Growing Pains
by kittyfitz01
Summary: Time has passed, and Araile is growing. How will she cope with an overprotective brother and falling in love?
1. Chapter 1

Here is the second version of this chapter. For some reason, the first post turned into all HTML ^^; A BIG thank you to HaileyHavoc who pointed it out to me! THANK YOU! Let's hope this time it works :) Anyways this is the sequel to my story 'Just A Kid'. I don't own Naruto! Though I wish I did...anyways review, comment, favourite or follow! Enjoy :)

Hurried breaths echoed throughout the woods as a figure ran towards the gates of Konoha.

For days now, the figure had been watching the road; watching for a brief moment when the guards changed duties with other guards.

There was only a small window of time when the figure darted from it's hideout in some foliage. A tail poked out of a hooded cape as the figure continued to run towards the gate.

Almost there! Almost th-

"Going somewhere?" a cold voice sounded suddenly.

A small yelp sounded from the hooded figure as it tripped over its feet and landed on the ground, scraping its chin in the process.

"Kane! What're you doing?" the figure said as it turned around.

Araile Kiyoshi rubbed her chin gently with a grimace. She had almost made it to Konoha! It had been 3 and a half years since the pre-teen had seen everyone in Konoha, and she missed everyone terribly. Still rubbing her raw chin, Araile sighed and pushed back her hood and got to work taming her messy hair that was now a mess of leaves and brambles. Snaking a hair elastic out of a front pocket, she began the long process of putting her long white hair in a ponytail.

Grumbling, she began walking with Kane towards the cottage that they had been living in. It was a quaint and cozy cottage, but she longed to see the streets of Konoha and to hear the people talking.

A small ache had taken refuge in her heart as Kane took her back to the small path that led to the cottage. The elder councilman had declared that the pre-teen had to now live with Kane.

Each day, Araile would stare out the small window from her bedroom and wonder; wonder how life for her previous caretaker Kakashi Hatake and her companion Takumi was going.

Did they miss her?

Were they trying to look for her?

Have they given up yet?

_"They must have given up looking for me by now...Kakashi could easily have found the cottage! I was so close...so close to seeing them again"_ Araile thought as she and Kane walked down the small path, now covered in moss.

As the cottage came into view, a sigh heaved itself out of the pre-teen. It looked like she'd stay here forever. Kane waited until his sister had opened the front door before walking away.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I need to take care of a few things" was the only reply the girl got before he disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

Shrugging, Araile closed the door behind her and struggled to get the hooded cape off. Her head got stuck halfway through due to her ponytail getting snagged on the tag. Growling slightly, Araile continued to struggle, bumping into a chair in the process.

She felt a zing of pain as her chin protested from her jaw tightening in frustration.

Finally, her head was freed with a small _'pop'_, and she flung the cursed garment onto the kitchen table.

Rolling her shoulders, Araile headed towards her room; a small room off to the side of the kitchen with just a bed and dresser. She threw herself onto the bed and laid there, her tail twitching as the pre-teen's mind roamed free.

Closing her eyes, her body sagged against the mattress as her thoughts swirled around and around.


	2. Chapter 2

Here is the second part of 'Wild Child'. I hope you enjoy this chapter even though this chapter is a bit on the dark side. As usual I don't own Naruto. Reviews are greatly appreciated :)

Sunlight streamed through the branches as Araile walked through the forest, the sounds of nature lifting the girl's heavy heart. She had decided to go out and take a walk and managed to convince her brother that she wouldn't try and go to her old village.

Since that time a few days ago, there seemed to be a conflict going on inside of the pre-teen. Her heart wanted to break away and to run as fast as she could into Konoha and into the arms of her friends.

But her head wanted to listen to her brother. He was Araile's only brother, and he was important to her.

Kane was protecting her.

_But it sure is a weird way of protecting his own sister._

Sighing, Araile jumped over a fallen tree log that was riddled with moss; insects flying away from the log in protest. The rhythmic thumping of her feet hitting the soft ground led her mind into dreamland as the sun cast shadows through the trees.

Before long, her heart began to pound furiously and a cold pit settled in her stomach. Stopping, Araile looked around as her ears twitched in various directions to hear what had made her body react like that.

The birds had stopped chirping and the wind stilled. Araile's tail began twitching as she looked around.

What was going on?

A branch snapped to the right, and Araile sprang into the bushes.

Thankfully there was enough room underneath the branches for Araile to squeeze her body underneath. Araile began to breath quietly, but her heart continued to pound. Pulling her knees to her chest, her ears continued to twitch back and forth in hopes of catching the sound of whoever made her heart pound.

Footsteps approached rapidly to where Araile were standing just moments ago and the smell of alcohol and body odor wafted over to where she were hiding. Grimacing, Araile silently put her hand over her nose, trying to block out the stench.

"Oi! Wher'd ya go to? I know yer here!" a gravely male voice shouted.

Hiccuping, the stranger grunted and ambled away, his footsteps thudding heavily on the ground.

Araile was frozen in place, ears twitching slightly to hear where the man had gone to. Thankfully, his footsteps disappeared and Araile slowly crept out from under the bushes, tail twitching slowly and ears continuing to swivel back and forth.

Looking down the forest path, she saw no one and sighed in relief. Slowly standing up, Araile took one tentative step back towards where she came; intending on going back to the safety of the cottage.

A large hand suddenly came over her mouth, cutting off a scream that escaped from her lips and securing her jaws tightly together. Another arm went around Araile's waist, pinning her arms to her side. The rancid smell of alcohol and body odor invaded her nose, making Araile feel sick to her stomach.

A dark chuckle rumbled through the stranger, and Araile could feel the vibrations through her back.

"See? I caught ya. 'm go'n to have me some fun" the man said, causing the young girl to shudder.

Araile tried to kick the attacker with her heels, but he nimbly avoided the kick by angling his body away from her feet.

"None o' that now! Bu' I do like 'em fiesty" he mused, and fear began rising within Araile as her ears pinned themselves against her head.

Her eyes widened as she felt something slimy slide against the back of her neck.

He was licking her!

_"Oh no...I think I'm going to puke!"_ Araile thought as a shiver ran up and down her spine.

"You taste good fer a lil lady" the man chuckled, then squished Araile against a tree, his large form pressing against her back.

_"Help! Kane! Kakashi! Anyone!"_ Araile screamed in her mind, and struggled against her restraints.

"None o' that" the man grumbled, and reached around to grab a handful of her hair.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is the next chapter. I would really appreciate reviews with this fanfiction :) As usual, I don't own Naruto.**

This was it.

Araile was going to die in the hands of this unruly guy.

Whimpering, she closed her eyes as he continued to lick along the curve of her neck.

"Excuse me, would you know the way to the nearest village?" a smooth voice sounded behind her attacker.

"No, now m've 'long son" the large man said.

"Oh, that's too bad. But you are ruining my sense of smell" the unknown man said.

Araile then felt the vibrations of the stranger's fist making contact with the side of her attackers face, knocking him out cold.

As her attacker's hands slipped away from Araile's body, her legs decided to give out. She landed on her hands and knees with her eyes squeezed shut as her heart continued to pound. Her lungs worked double time, taking in some much needed clean air.

A rustle of footsteps sounded quietly behind the frightened girl, causing her to flinch.

The unknown rescuer walked slowly behind Araile and knelt down beside her shaking form. A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder, and she flinched again.

"Araile..." her name left his lips softly, causing her to open her eyes slowly in surprise.

"How does he know my name? Wait...I know that voice" Araile thought as she slowly turned her head towards the man's voice.

Her eyes roamed up a pair of sandals, to dark pants then to a familiar dark green vest. Taking a shaky breath, her eyes continued their roaming.

A dark mask and a headband met her eyes.

Araile's heart couldn't be happier.

"Kakashi?" she choked out before a stinging sensation pricked her eyes, causing Araile to quickly rub her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Hey kiddo. It looked like you needed a hand with your friend" her old caregiver said before helping the trembling girl up, causing the trembling girl to let out a shaky laugh.

"What are you doing out here?" Araile asked as she tamed her hair back into a ponytail, trying to get her heart rate back to normal.

"Coming back from a mission" he answered, before putting a hand on her shoulder.

Araile managed a measly squeak of an answer before her tears overwhelmed her. Shoulders shaking, Araile turned her face away in shame from her old caregiver. Kakashi bent down to the girl's height and placed a hand on her hair as tears rolled down Araile's cheeks. Even though Araile was older and had indeed grown, she was still short.

"Now, what's all this?" he chuckled.

"I-I thought I was g-going to die, and t-that I'd never see you a-again" she hiccuped.

"Araile" Kakashi sighed and pulled the girl into a hug while she cried all her sorrows out.

After a couple of minutes, he straightened with Araile still in his arms, the crying girl refusing to let go. Sniffing, her fingers played with the seam of his vest as Kakashi started walking back the way she had come. All the smells of home wafted off his vest, and Araile found herself relaxing as the memories of home in Konoha drifted through her exhausted mind.

"Araile, you've grown. I think you may start to be a little too big for this, don't you think?" Kakashi joked as he shifted the girl in his arms.

Kakashi chuckled as he felt her shaking her head, Araile's arms tightened momentarily around his shoulders.

"You used to always demand me to carry you in my arms whenever I came back from missions when you were small" Kakashi mused as her tail twitched in small little circles.

"Really?" came a muffled reply from his shoulder.

"Mhm, every day" Kakashi answered.

Before long, Araile allowed Kakashi to put her down. As her feet touched the ground a butterfly fluttered past, it's colors shining against the afternoon sun before landing on a nearby fallen tree log.

Smiling widely, Araile jogged over to where the butterfly had landed. Sensing her presence, the butterfly spread it's wings and took flight from the log.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as the butterfly flew close her face then darted off to a tree branch.

Giggling, Araile began to stalk her insect prey, the fear of her attacker gone momentarily from her mind.

Chuckling, Kakashi watched his old ward with a gentle smile on his face. Even though Araile was almost 13 years old, to Kakashi she was still a toddler walking on unsteady legs.

Time had definitely flown by.

As Kakashi continued going down memory lane, Araile stalked her butterfly prey into the bush. It wasn't getting away from her so easily! Her tail twitched back and forth as her feet moved slowly along the ground.

"Come out, come out little butterfly" she murmured.

The butterfly fanned it's wings as it rested on a high tree branch above her head. Looking up, her tail gave a small twitch.

Sighing, Araile gave up her hunt and headed back to Kakashi. As soon as she came close to Kakashi, a glimmer of light flashed above Kakashi's head. Crying out, her eyes widened as a shadow jumped from behind a tree and swung a sword directly at Kakashi's head.

_Clang!_

Araile's ears twitched as Kakashi blocked the sword swing with his kunai knife. A sigh of relief swept its way through her, but was replaced with a gasp of shock as the shadow figure revealed her older brother.

Her brother's eyes were blazing with fury as his sword was deflected by Kakashi.

"Kane? What are you doing! Stop it!" Araile cried out, shocked and confused by his actions.

Growling, Kane relaxed and put his sword in a sheath on his back.

"I thought I told you to stay away from anyone from Konoha" Kane grounded out between clenched teeth.

"But Kakashi saved me! I was-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses, Araile! I told you to do something so simple, and you couldn't even do that!" her brother exploded, causing her to flinch back, her ears stooped low.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone, here is the next instalment of 'Growing Pains'. Please review, comment, favourite or follow. I don't own Naruto.**

"Your sister was in danger!" Kakashi said sharply as his single visible eye glared at Kane.

"She should have protected herself! She doesn't need an old man like you to protect her from a little threat" Kane gritted through his teeth.

"It wasn't a little threat! She was almost molested!" Kakashi snapped back.

At this statement, Kane's head snapped towards Araile's direction, eyes narrowing furiously.

"Is this true, Araile?" he asked, his voice a low murmur.

Alarm bells rang inside Araile's head at her brother's calm tone.

Nodding slowly, her tail twitched back and forth as she observed Kane's reaction. Strangely there was a mix of concern, anger, and disgust in his eyes.

"I see..." Kane said softly, before turning his back and walking towards home.

"Wha-Kane! Where are you going?!" Araile exclaimed as she looked back and forth between Kakashi and Kane, torn between following her brother and spending time with her old caregiver.

"Go on, Araile. Your brother needs your company right now" Kakashi said gently and hugged the girl before walking the opposite way, hands in his pockets.

After watching Kakashi's back, Araile sighed and jogged to her brother's side, looking at his face.

Blank.

"Kane...?" Araile asked softly.

Kane stopped suddenly, and Araile felt a cold lump in her stomach as her ears lowered.

This was it. He was going to explode from anger and she'd never be able to go outside again.

Kane then swept Araile up in his arms, crushing his younger sister to his frame. Shocked, Araile stood there, eyes widened and tail twitching.

This was unlike Kane at all. Kane was cold, distant and not emotional at all...but here he was, hugging you for all he was worth.

A small smile crossed her lips as her brother continued to hug her.

"I almost lost you" he muttered, and released Araile from his grasp.

"But you didn't! I'm right here, in front of you! Kane, I survived because Kakashi saved me. I would have been dead if it weren't for him" Araile said, a smile still on her face.

Grunting Kane ruffled her hair, to which she protested loudly.

"Let's go" he said, back to his high-and-mighty self.

Smiling, Araile skipped ahead of Kane as her hair bounced in the sunshine. Soon, her brother's figure disappeared as Araile skipped on ahead.

Finally the path to the cottage appeared and Araile ran along it, kicking stones into the bushes. The birds chirped loudly and the wind rustled through the leafy foliage, creating intricate patterns on the ground below.

Stopping, Araile bent down to admire some flowers that had poked their heads through some rocks.

A shadow loomed over Araile and before she knew what was happening, a force knocked her onto her stomach. The smell of alcohol and body odour invaded her nose as her assailant chuckled darkly.

Yelping, Araile struggled furiously as her fingers scrabbled along the ground.

"T'ought you could git 'way from me?" the shadow said, huffing and puffing alcoholic breath into her hair.

Eyes widening, Araile realized it was the man from before. Somehow he had caught you, and was probably going to finish what he had started. Araile began to feel fear creep into her veins, but fought it back.

That fear then turned into anger, and a growl sounded deep within her chest.

She wouldn't get killed by this excuse of a man!

Gritting her teeth, Araile kicked her heel back towards his crotch and heard a satisfying grunt of pain. As the man rolled off her to hold onto his precious treasure, Araile scrambled onto her feet and took off towards the cottage.

_'Almost there! Almost there! Keep going!' _Araile chanted in her mind as her legs pumped back and forth furiously.

Twisting and turning, Araile wound around trees and bushes, trying to lose her pursuer. She couldn't let him find the cottage.

She _wouldn't_ let him find it.

Spotting a large tree, Araile sped behind it and crouched down. Her heart pounded furiously in her ears as her chest heaved. Peeking from behind the tree trunk, Araile noticed the man lumbering through the foliage.

Creeping from around the tree, Araile crept towards the man as his back was turned towards her. Letting out a feral snarl, Araile launched herself at his back and latched on, her arms locked around the man's thick neck.

Roaring the man reared back, his hands scrabbling at her arms.

Growling, she sank her teeth into his shoulder and her canines pierced through to his skin; fabric and mud coating the inside of Araile's mouth. Yelling and cursing, the man struggled to get her arms off his neck.

A small '_shink_' caught Araile's attention, and she looked to see that the man had managed to get a hold of a sharp knife that was attached to his belt.

She began kicking the middle of his back in a way Kakashi called 'bunny kicking'. Grunting, the man twisted his arm around with surprising flexibility and sunk the knife into the young girl's side.

Yelping loudly, Araile released her hold on his neck as hot pain raced up her side as the knife fell out. Keeping a hand against her wound, Araile struggled back.

Chuckling, the man turned around and picked up the knife.

"Beauty, ain't it? This knife is me fav'rite. Laced wit pois'n, she is" he said, grinning and putting it back on his belt.

Hissing, Araile felt blood begin to drip down from her hand and onto the ground.

The man suddenly launched himself and swung a meaty fist; the sound of flesh meeting flesh echoing in her ears as Araile was launched back into a nearby tree.

Struggling to stand up, Araile spat out a mouthful of blood as the knife wound throbbed with each breath she took. A shadow loomed over her as the man stood in front of Araile, grinning evilly.

A kick to the side ripped a scream out of her throat, and Araile squeezed her eyes shut from the amount of pain that was blossoming from her side.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did t'at hurt?" the man sneered as he kicked her side again, grounding his heel into the struggling girl's ribs.

Yelping, Araile's hands tried to pry his foot away.

Laughing loudly, the man grabbed a chunk of her hair and lifted her up. Araile yelped loudly again she felt the roots of her hair protesting.

"I'm gonna enjoy this. Slicing me knife th'ough tha' pretty lil' tail o' yours" he said with a crazy grin.

"I'll enjoy this more" a dark voice said behind the man.

"Who-?" the man managed to say before a blade was thrust through the man's heart.

Dropping heavily to the ground, the man's eyes stared blankly towards Araile as his hand released her hair. Araile dropped heavily to the ground on her knees as she let out little pants.

Her eyes then blearily looked up into the eyes of her rescuer.

Her brother's golden eyes stared back at her, before everything went dark.

"Araile!" Kane exclaimed as his sister limply fell on her side, small spasms running through her bruised and bloody body.

Cursing, he rushed over to her side.

Noticing the blood staining your shirt, he lifted the bottom of her shirt to see where the blood was coming from. The skin surrounding the knife wound had turned an ugly green and grey colour; blood and pus trickling out in a steady stream.

The man's knife had poisoned his sister.

Glancing at Araile's face, Kane quickly picked her up and rushed to the cottage that was only a few feet away.

He wasn't going to let his baby sister die.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 is here! I only own my OCs.**

Kane brought his sister into the cottage and laid her on her bed as her muscles continued to spasm from the poison. Her eyes twitched restlessly back and forth underneath her eyelids, and Kane laid a hand on her cheek.

"Starting to burn up" he murmured, and got up to to go retrieve a small bucket of water.

He then dipped a small cloth into the water and brought it over to Araile. Kane then gently lifted the edge of your shirt and placed the wet cloth onto her poisoned wound. Sighing, he smoothed out her hair. He knew that if he didn't do something, Kane would lose Araile.

A soft whimper broke through Kane's thoughts.

Looking down, he noticed how flushed her face had become; her brows furrowed as if to concentrate on taking in air. Shallow and painful pants echoed throughout the room; every now and then her body would go rigid with her back arching and her mouth opened in a silent scream.

That confirmed it for Kane. He would bring you to someone who knew what to do.

Carefully, Kane covered the stab wound with a couple of bandages and placed Araile's hood across her shoulders gently. He then hoisted his sister onto his back, and his eyes narrowed as he felt her heart beating frantically against his back.

He knew this particular poison that was now invading Araile's body.

The toxins would continue to race through her bloodstream, breaking down and destroying the tissues in her main organs. It would then reach the girls lungs and break down the veins; leaving her to ultimately drown in her own blood.

Kane exited the cottage and raced along the path, keeping in mind the many criminals that roamed the forests at night. Trees raced by Kane's vision as he continued running, increasing his pace as soon as he saw the main road. Tightening his hold on Araile's quivering legs, Kane put on a burst of speed as soon as his feet touched the road.

After a couple minutes of running, Kane came upon the gates of Konoha. He then silently lept onto a nearby tree branch and over the wooden wall, running silently from rooftop to rooftop, looking for a particular house.

_There!_

Kane then jumped down from the rooftop in front of a door. Pounding on the door, he then turned his head to check on his sister. Her flushed and hot face had been replaced with pale and clammy, with her bangs plastered to her forehead from the sweat that was slowly dripping down the side of her face. Her muscle spasms were becoming more violent, and her breath began to gurgle and rasp.

Light flooded the doorway as the front door opened, revealing Araile's old caregiver with a confused and concerned face.

"Kane? What are you doing here? What do you want?" Kakashi said.

"My sister needs help" Kane said, and pushed past Kakashi into the small house.

He then placed Araile on the couch, smoothing her wet bangs away from her face quietly. Araile instinctively curled her knees to her stomach, whimpering loudly as the movement agitated her wound.

"What happened?" Kakashi exclaimed as he noticed the young girl's state.

"Attack" Kane said before getting up.

Nodding, Kakashi glanced at Kane.

"Go notify a medical nin. They should know what to do. Go now!" Kakashi stated, and watched as Araile's brother rushed out the door.

Sighing, Kakashi glanced down at the twitching girl, eye narrowing in worry. A bloodstain was slowly beginning to spread through her bandages, and her muscles twitched furiously.

Clattering claws caught Kakashi's attention as a dark shape rushed towards the girl.

"Easy there. You need to be careful, my friend" Kakashi said gently to Takumi, his old charge's demon companion.

Takumi whined and rubbed his face against Araile's arm that lay lifelessly over the couch, his tail swishing from side to side. He hadn't seen her in what seemed like forever! He was so happy!

But something was wrong.

Takumi sat back on his haunches and pawed Araile's side, but jumped back in surprise when her back arched. Kakashi took a kunai knife from his pouch and cut the bandages away, eye narrowing when he noticed the stab wound. Dried blood was crusted around the edges as pus tinged with blood oozed out. The skin around the wound was quickly turning into a yellowish brown colour, and the colour was spreading out from the wound.

This was bad.


	6. Chapter 6

**Here is Chapter 6 everyone. As usual, I only own my OCs.**

Soon, Kakashi heard a knock on the front door. Takumi growled low in his throat and stood in front of Araile, his fur standing straight up.

"Don't worry" Kakashi murmured, and walked over to the door.

Opening it, he saw Kane with a medical nin. The medical nin looked startled but determined; a large duffle bag slung across his shoulders. Kakashi nodded once and led the medical nin inside. Without a word, the medical nin walked over to the girl's trembling form and knelt down beside her, taking note of your symptoms.

"How did she come into contact with the poison?" the medical nin asked, looking from Kakashi to Kane.

"What!" Kakashi snapped, eye narrowed.

He did not know that his old charge had been poisoned, and apparently Kane had left that little detail out when he dropped Araile off before finding a medical nin.

Kane had told the medical nin everything that happened before they arrived, from the first encounter Araile had to when Kane had found his little sister about to be skewered, and to his realization that his sister had been poisoned.

"She was stabbed" Kane said, and Kakashi's head snapped towards Araile's brother, about to confront the young man.

"Gentlemen, please. Your bickering is not helping this poor girl. We need to get her to the hospital immediately. I cannot work properly in this condition" the medical nin said as he stood up and dusted his pants.

Sighing, Kane scooped his sister up into his arms and walked out the front door; Kakashi and the medical nin following behind.

"It is faster if we go this way" the medical nin said, and ran across the street.

Nodding, both men followed.

As the group continued to run, Kane noticed how harsh Araile's breathing was sounding. Her head jerked from side to side against his chest as her eyelids fluttered. She needed medical attention, and she needed it now.

"Ah, here we are" the medical nin said as the doors to the hospital swished open.

Immediately, the medical nin took the girl from Kane's arms and rushed into a room. A nurse came up after and offered both Kane and Kakashi a seat in the waiting room.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of Araile. She'll be fine" she said with a kind smile.

In the room, Araile's hands clenched and relaxed as the medical nin inserted a needle into her shoulder, injecting a clear fluid.

All at once, her back arched and a strangled yell tore through her lips. The medical nin rushed to push a button on a monitor, causing an alarm to sound, and strapped Araile's flailing arms into small leather restraints.

"What's going on?" a nurse asked as she ran into the room after hearing the alarm.

"She's reacting to the antidote. We need to restrain her for safety until her muscle movement is under control" the medical nin stated.

"Get me some other medical nins. We'll need all hands on deck with this one. Go now!" he said, and the nurse scurried away.

Sighing, the medical nin placed a hand on the girl's forehead as her head jerked furiously back and forth. He wanted to keep her head still so there would be less risk of her injuring her spine.

This poison was dangerous.

It had already begun to break down some of the tissues in her muscles and organs, and the medical nin sent a silent prayer up to the heavens that it hadn't reached any of her major organs.

After a total of 3 hours, the medical team had finally managed to dilute the poison. It took every ounce of their knowledge, and it paid off.

They patched Araile's stab wound, and gave her an IV for antibiotics to fight back the infection that had already set in. Kami knows what type of bacteria was living on the knife that she was attacked with.

Sighing, the medical nin who took Araile in wiped his forehead as he watched his patient. Her chest rose and fell slowly as she took in small intakes of clean air. They removed the restraints after the antidote took effect.

"Kakashi? Ah, here you are" the nurse said softly as she walked into the waiting room.

Kakashi's and Kane's heads perked up as the nurse walked over.

"The medical team has managed to take control of the poison. Now, Araile is very weak so we are going to be keeping her here for a couple of days. It'll be easier for us; we can keep an eye on her" the nurse said, and Kakashi nodded his thanks.

"Can we go see her?" Kakashi asked, but the nurse shook her head.

"Not right now. We need to keep her as stable as possible" the nurse said apologetically.

"Nurse? How is Araile today?" the medical nin asked as he came into the main office of the hospital.

"The same as yesterday, the poor girl. She still hasn't regained conciseness, but her muscles and tissues have begun to heal" the nurse said as she checked some notes on her clipboard.

"I see" the medical nin said, and walked down the hallway.

Checking other patients put his mind to ease. This was his duty, and the medical nin enjoyed helping and healing.

Coming to the end of the hallway, the medical nin silently crept into his youngest patients room. Araile had been attacked, stabbed and poisoned by a knife, and it took the medical team all that they knew about poisons to intercept this deadly concoction.

Slipping on gloves, the medical nin moved aside the blanket that had been tucked in tightly against the girl's stomach.

This was where the poison had entered her body.

When she had been rushed in, the wound had been infected; pus and blood oozing out. The skin around the wound had begun to discolour, and had started creeping up her body. The medical nin gently unwrapped the bandage, and smiled when he saw that the wound had began to heal.

As the medical nin changed her bandages, a knock suddenly interrupted his actions.

"Yes?" the medical nin said as he turned around.

"Doctor? There's someone here to talk to you about the patient in room 81" the nurse said quietly from the door.

Nodding, the medical nin slipped off his gloves and followed the nurse outside.

A stream of sunlight drifted across Araile's face as soon as the door to her room closed. All was silent, with the exception of the heart moitor beeping out her heart rhythm.

A gentle voice drifted through Araile's unconscious mind, causing the girl to flinch into the hospital bed.

_"Araile"_

Who...?

_"Araile"_

Who's there?

_"Open your eyes, my little bird"_

Why?

_"Please, sweetheart. Open your eyes, baby"_

Her hands clenched the bed sheet as she forced her eyes open slowly. Through blurred vision, her eyes wandered weakly across the room. A small groan rose from her throat as her eyelids drifted back shut.

Her ear weakly twitched as the door to her hospital room opened. Opening her eyes again, her gaze wandered over to your visitor.

"Hey, kiddo" Kakashi's voice echoed through the girl's mind.

Too weak to speak, her tail gave a small twitch in greeting. Kakashi smiled gently and pulled a chair over, sat down and took out his favourite perverted book. Blinking slowly, Araile shifted underneath the blankets. A twinge of pain stopped her actions as her wound protested the movement.

"Careful, Araile" Kakashi said, looking at the girl over the edge of his book.

"Home" Araile whispered.

Sighing, Kakashi stood up and brushed her bangs away from her face.

"I know you want to go back home. You have to stay here and get better; you know this" Kakashi said gently.

Murmuring, her eyes closed once again and the young girl fell into a deep slumber.


	7. Chapter 7

**As usual, I only own my OC Araile. Enjoy everyone!**

Birds chirping drifted through Araile's mind as she lay in the hospital bed. It was the third day in the hospital, and she was becoming quite bored. The only things she could do was daydreaming and staring out her hospital window.

Sighing, she opened her eyes and sat up. Her muscles and tissues had almost healed, and her stab wound had begun to scab. It itched horribly, and if she wasn't allowed to scratch it Araile would surely go insane. It would leave a scar, no doubt about it.

Araile gazed out her hospital window as she watched the people go on about their lives. A stray cat wandered across her line of sight. It stopped and turned its gaze towards her, its tail high in the air. With so much as an ear twitch, it turned away and sprinted off. Her gaze followed it until the cat turned the corner of the hospital building.

Her tail twitched the slightest bit under the blanket as her muscles itched to move around. If she didn't get out of this hospital, she would lose her mind.

A sigh left her lips as she gazed down at her hands. They were no longer the hands of a young child; soft and slightly chubby. Her hands were slimmer now, with sharp nails tipping her slender fingers. Scars marred the surface of both her hands, and she idly traced the outline of one scar that ran across the surface of one knuckle on her left hand.

This one scar had a particular memory attached to it.

Araile smiled as her mind transported her to the moment in time when she received that scar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_WHAM!_

_SMACK!_

_SLAM!_

_"Argh!" a voice yelped out, startling a small flock of birds into the sky._

_"Sorry, Shinrai. I guess I got too into the fight" Araile giggled, and helped her friend up off the ground._

_She and Shinrai had been practicing fighting in a field not far from the little cottage they called home. It had been one full year since she had been in the Land of Mortality._

_Every day, her stomach would get this mysterious flutter each time Shinrai looked at or spoke to her._

_What was going on with her? Araile had never had these feelings before! Why was it always with Shinrai?_

_"Don't worry" Shinrai said, smiling at her._

_There was the stomach flutter, right on schedule._

_"Oh! Araile, your hand!" Shinrai exclaimed._

_The knuckle on her left hand had a slash, and blood had begun to ooze out. He gently took a hold of her hand and fished out a roll of bandages with his other hand. Heat raced up her neck to the tip of her ears as she noticed how gentle her friend was._

_"D-don't worry about it Shinrai! It's just a scratch" Araile stammered._

_"I don't mind" Shinrai answered softly._

_Each time Shinrai's hand came into contact with hers, little shocks of warmth raced up her hand. Her heart rate increased drastically, and her tail twitched._

_"There we go. All done" Shinrai said, smiling at her._

_His green eyes sparkled in the afternoon sun as a gentle breeze blew across the field, causing strands of his purple hair to jump and dance around with strands from her hair. His hair always looked shiny and clean, and if Araile concentrated hard enough she could pick up a hint of peppermint. His eyes always held a slight gleam of determination and compassion and on numerous occasions Araile caught herself gazing into his eyes._

_The depth of his green eyes always seemed endless to her._ _She never realized it, but Shinrai had the clearest green eyes she had ever seen._

_"T-thanks, Shinrai. You really got me with your dagger today" Araile said, feeling slightly giddy._

_"Yeah, Seishin has been giving me some good tips" Shinrai said, still holding her bandaged hand in his._

_His hand was soft, yet hardened by many calluses from training. It had the strength to wield a deadly weapon, but yet was gentle enough to heal a wound._

_"Shinrai?" she said softly._

_"Yeah?"_

_"You can let go of my hand now" she said, a small smile curling over her lips._

_"O-oh! Sorry" Shinrai stuttered, and dropped her hand before quickly turning away._

_Blinking, Araile could have sworn she saw her friend's cheeks turn slightly pink._

_"Come on, I'll race you back to the house!" Araile said, and took off towards the line of smoke that was curling into the blue sky._

_"H-hey! Wait for me!" Shinrai called behind her and began to run after her._

_She let out a loud giggle as her friend soon caught up to her as the small and cozy house came into view. For once, she was happy. Happy to have amazing people like Shinrai to hang out with. Happy that she was safe_.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
A knock interrupted her memories. Looking towards the door, Araile saw it was the medical nin that had taken care of her since first bringing her in 3 days ago.

"So, Araile. How are we doing today?" the medical nin said, clipboard in hand.

"Good" she answered, and shifted so he could take her temperature and blood pressure.

Smiling, he recorded the results onto the clipboard.

"Well, Araile. I'm happy to say that you are free to go" the medical nin said, and handed a pair of clothes.

"R-really? You mean it? I can go?" Araile said excitedly, a wide smile spreading across her lips and almost threatening to split her face in two.

The medical nin nodded, and laughed as she zoomed into the hospital room's bathroom. She hurriedly took off the gown and put on the shirt, only to find that it was inside out. Huffing impatiently, she fixed her shirt and slipped on her pants.

Opening the bathroom door, Araile skipped out and almost smacked into her old caretaker Kakashi. Thankfully, he noticed her and placed a hand on her shoulder, steadying her.

"Are you ready?" he asked, smiling down at her with his visible eye.

She nodded, and rocked back and forth on her heels impatiently as the medical nin gave Kakashi instructions on giving her antibiotics or what to do if she had managed to get poisoned again. Kane had left to go to the cottage, saying that she was too weak to travel just yet.

Finally, Kakashi and the impatient Araile walked outside. Unable to contain her happiness any longer, she let out a loud laugh and ran around the front of the hospital, her hair blowing in the wind.

Freedom! No more hospitals for her, no sir!

But there was one thing on her mind. A certain _someone_ that she knew had been on her mind the entire time.

_"Shinrai, where are you?"_ Araile thought sadly as she and Kakashi started walking down the path towards his apartment.


	8. Chapter 8

**Now that my life is starting to calm down a bit, I will be uploading more regularly. Here is Chapter 8, and another character has come back! Hope everyone enjoys!**

As evening fell upon the village, the two men guarding the front gate lounged around in their seats. No one would be entering the village, especially at this time of night. As one of the guards leaned against the back of his chair, a sudden wind blew past him, stirring up leaves, twigs and dust.

"Hey!" the guard exclaimed, shielding his eyes with a raised arm.

As soon as it had come, the wind died down, leaving the two guards confused.

"What was that?" the one guard said, dusting himself off.

"No idea" the other said.

Brushing it off as Mother Nature having a small fit, they continued their nightly watch; unaware that something had indeed entered the village. That something was jumping quickly from rooftop to rooftop; looking, searching for something.

It wouldn't stop until it found what it was looking for.

Sighing deeply, Araile raised her arms above her head and pulled; the muscles stretching.

It had been almost a week since her release from the hospital, and the Hokage had ordered her to stay with Kakashi until she had fully recovered enough to go back with her brother. The new Hokage was a blond haired lady that no one messed with.

Tsunade had been the Third Hokage's student.

Tonight, she wanted to take a walk around the village just by herself. Kakashi of course refused, but she begged him. She hadn't been out for a week, and the 14 year-old was sure she was getting cabin fever. Finally he accepted, but gave her a curfew as the only condition. Of course, Araile was out the front door and down the stairs before hearing about the curfew, but she'd be back anyways before night fell.

Walking felt good. The cool breeze gently blew across her skin, picking up strands of her hair and twisting them about. Giggling, she stretched again and rounded the corner before stopping.

Someone was yelling.

Her ears swivelled around, trying to hear what the person was yelling about. A thief? Was that what they were yelling about? A crowd of people began to hurry towards the victim: a middle-aged woman who ran a small bakery.

Her ears flattened as the woman told her tale, flourishing here and there. Apparently, a dark shadow crept up behind her and took the bread that was in her very hands. Time almost seemed to fly by as she listened more and more to the woman's tale, and before long the moon was high in the sky.

_"Uh oh! I better hurry or else Kakashi will never let me outside again!"_ Araile thought as she turned from the crowd and began jogging back to the small apartment.

As the moon became covered by some clouds, she increased her pace. Rounding a corner, she ran into something and bounced back, landing on her back and bouncing her head off a small rock on the ground.

"Ow.." she muttered as she sat up and rubbed the now-throbbing spot on her head.

Her still-healing wound protested as she blinked and looked at the thing that she ran into: a figure shrouded in shadows. Getting back on her feet quickly, her eyes narrowed at the figure in shadows.

This was the thing that stole from the bakery!

A low growl vibrated up her throat as her ears pinned themselves back. The figure turned slowly toward her, and drew out a weapon. Araile couldn't tell what it was from the shadows, but she had to be careful. She didn't want to end up back in the hospital...then both Kakashi and Kane would never let her out of their sights! Her tail twitched back and forth as her muscles clenched. Before she could blink, the figure charged at her, forcing Araile to jump back. Her legs pushed off from the ground, and she aimed a kick at the figure.

A small grunt escaped from the figure as her foot connected with something soft and fleshy; most likely its stomach. A thrill went through her veins as she made the first hit, but that victory was shortly lived as the figure's hands grabbed her ankle and swung her around. She flew towards a garbage can and crashed into it, sending garbage and empty cans flying everywhere. Hissing, she launched herself at the shadow again, but instead she aimed for its legs. As she predicted, the figure jumped up, and Araile quickly grabbed a hold of one of the figures ankles.

Araile pivoted her body, and as soon as her back touched the ground she flipped the figure over; her body sitting on top of it. Small pants echoed through the air as she stared down at the figure. A sudden memory flashed into her mind.

_Araile flipped Shinrai onto his back, her hands and legs pinning his down to the ground. Giggling, she got off of him and helped her friend back up._

_"Pinned you again!" she giggled._

_"This time. Next time, you won't be so lucky" Shinrai said, laughing as well._

"Who are you?" she asked, tail twitching restlessly behind her.

The figure gave no reply. The clouds that were covering the moon moved away, and everything was bathed in moonlight. Blinking, she noticed the moonlight illuminating the shadowed figure she was sitting on top of.

A slim torso.

Toned arms with a few scars along the surface.

Then the face was revealed.

Gaping like a fish out of water, she watched as moonlight lit up a pair of clear green eyes and purple hair. Scrambling back onto her feet, her eyes widened as her gaze lay upon her long lost friend. Her heart fluttered as she took in how much he'd grown. No more was that little boy awkwardness. Here was a person who was quick to act. Quick to think.

Quick to _love._

"Shinrai..." she breathed, and her friend stood up.

"Yeah, how do you know my name?" he said, his voice smooth.

He even sounded more mature!

She slowly walked towards him on quivering legs.

"It's me...Araile" she said, a small smile spreading over her lips as she took in her friend's reaction.

"Araile..?" he whispered, and she nodded.

Before she knew it, Shinrai had scooped her up into his arms and was crushing her in a hug. A blush flew across her face as her heart skipped a beat.

"I finally found you. I missed you" Shinrai said, muffled by her hair.

Smiling, Araile returned the hug, arms squeezing against his torso.

"I missed you too" she murmured, and the two stood in each other's embrace for what seemed like hours.

"There he is, Lord Hokage! That's the little thief that stole my bread!" a nagging and high pitched voice sounded from behind Shinrai.

Letting go, Araile looked over to see the store owner standing there, along with Kakashi, the Hokage, and a small group of Jonin. Her ears lowered as she saw Kakashi's eye looking straight at her, and he didn't look too pleased. Laughing nervously, she clasped her hands behind her back.

"Well, now that this has been settled! Jonin, you can all go home" the Hokage stated, surprising everyone.

"W-what?! Why? Aren't you going to arrest the thief?!" the store owner squawked.

"Ma'am, the thief was already caught a few minutes ago by some of the Jonin" the Hokage stated, and sent the fuming store owner on her way.

Araile let out a small sigh of relief, but straightened back up when the Hokage spoke directly to her.

"I assume you know this young man, Araile?" she said.

"Yes ma'am. He's a good friend of mine" she answered meekly, trying to avoid looking at her old caregiver's reaction.

"I see. So, young man, what are your intentions to our village while you're here?" Tsunade asked Shinrai directly.

"I am hoping to get re-acquainted with Araile, Honourable Hokage" he said quietly.

"Good! Kakashi, I will see you tomorrow" the Hokage said, and walked off with the small group of Jonin.

Araile grinned at her friend, and Shinrai returned the grin. A shadow fell across the teens as Kakashi stood in front of her, hands on his hips. Gulping nervously, she lifted her golden gaze to his single black gaze.

Her eyes widened when his eye smiled down at her, and Kakashi ruffled her hair.

"I'm glad you're safe" was all he said as Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Smiling, Araile took Shinrai's hand in hers and walked towards the small apartment. The two began chatting on the way, and it felt like old times. There was no awkwardness between Araile and him. Her heart skipped as Shinrai glanced at her, causing heat to race to her cheeks.

Finally, they reached the apartment.

"Come on!" Araile said, and jumped up onto the roof; Shinrai closely behind.

"Wow.." Shinrai breathed as he saw the stars glittering down from the night sky.

Giggling, she laid on her back against the roof shingles. Shinrai sat down beside her and laid back, his hands crossed behind his head.

"I've never seen the stars so clearly before" he murmured.

Smiling gently at her friend, she inched closer to him and rested her head against one of his crossed arms as she gazed at the night sky with him. Her ears picked up the steady beat of Shinrai's heart, and it sent another thrill through her veins. As the night went on, Araile ended up having her head nestled on Shinrai's lap. The two teens laughed at all the memories of being awkward during training, or playing with Meiyo, or who could annoy Taiyo the most.

A sudden question popped into Araile's head, and she sat up.

"Hey, Shinrai?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you guys leave me here in Konoha after the preliminaries?" she asked softly, ears stooped low.

Shinrai was silent, looking at his hands.

"They wanted you to have a better life here. Kazoku and Seishin knew you'd be happier here then with us. I wanted to be there for you, but they wouldn't allow it" he said quietly.

"Oh.." you murmured, and gazed up at the night sky.

"Hey...Araile?" Shinrai suddenly asked.

"Yeah?" she said, turning to face him.

Her eyes widened as his lips met hers, and her face heated up once more. The smell of peppermint and grass assaulted her senses as her eyes drifted shut, floating on the feeling of Shinrai's lips against hers. His lips were soft and gentle, yet firm with the confidence of what he was doing. Without knowing what she was doing, Araile kissed him back; her hand resting on Shinrai's arm. Both teens broke the kiss, panting slightly for air. Her tail twitched back and forth as she gazed at Shinrai, a smile twitching across her lips. His cheeks were becoming red as a smile crossed his face as well, causing her to giggle slightly.

"What?" he said, blinking his clear green eyes at her.

"You're as red as a tomato!" Araile laughed, causing his hands to fly to his face.

"N-no I'm not!" he stammered, causing her to laugh harder.

Shinrai growled, and launched a full-on tickle attack. Squealing, Araile battered his hands away and launched an attack of her own. Back and forth she and Shinrai battled it out, until the teens collapsed in a panting fit of giggles and whispers.

Oh yes, this was heaven.


	9. Chapter 9

**Here is Chapter 9 of Growing Pains. I apologize for not updating this story; university life is demanding my attention and I'm barely awake enough to write and update. Please leave any reviews, critiques, criticisms or compliments and enjoy Chapter 9!**

The stars twinkled down from the night sky as Araile and Shinrai bathed in each other's presence. She still couldn't believe that her friend was here with her. Her tail twitched in amusement as she gazed at Shinrai. He had grown physically and mentally. No longer was he a stocky little boy who tripped over his feet at times. Muscles lined his arms and shoulders. When he spoke, he spoke with the air of confidence and a maturity that Araile had not seen in her friend before. Sighing lightly, she rested her head against Shinrai's shoulder.

"Hey Araile?"

"Yeah?"

"Where'd you get all your scars from?" Shinrai asked in a quiet voice as his finger traced a scar that ran across one of her arms.

"These? Well...some are from training with my brother" she said hesitantly, heart beginning to beat at a slightly faster pace as she watched his slender finger.

"Just training? I noticed some are larger than others" Shinrai said.

She nodded, not really trusting her voice.

"What about the one on your side? This big one" Shinrai asked as he lightly outlined the scar from the poisoned knife wound.

Araile took a shaky breath as goose bumps rose and raced across her skin. She didn't want to mention the drunken guy in the forest. No way.

"Araile?" Shinrai said in a gentle yet persistent voice.

That tone made Araile's mind race, and her mouth began to work on its own accord.

"U-um. That was from a-a attack outside the village. This drunk guy got me pretty bad. Pretty sad, isn't it?" she said with a shaky laugh.

"Tell me?" he asked in that same gentle voice.

Once again, her mouth moved on its own. Hesitantly, she told him how the drunkard had snuck up behind her, and how she managed to hide from him for a short time. She stuttered over the second attack, and how the drunkard managed to get a poisoned knife into her side. How her brother Kane had rushed her over to Konoha and to her old caregiver Kakashi.

How the medical team worked hard to get the antidote into her system in time to counteract the poison. She felt Shinrai stiffed beside her, and Araile mentally sighed. This was why she didn't want to tell him. She knew Shinrai would react badly to how she got injured and put into the hospital.

Araile lifted her head from Shinrai's shoulder to look at him. His eyes were narrowed, and his breath whistled in and out through clenched teeth. His hand balled into a tight fist at his side as he absorbed the information. Gently, she placed her hand on the side of her friend's cheek. The hardened edges in his face softened as he turned his gaze towards hers.

Smiling, Araile leaned over and rested her forehead against his.

"I'm fine now" she stated softly, and Shinrai closed his eyes and released a breath.

The two stayed in that position for what seemed like hours, but in fact was only a few minutes. Smiling, Araile lifted her head and poked Shinrai in the stomach, earning a grunt and a mild glare.

"Come on! Let's go back inside" she giggled, and hopped down to the pavement with Shinrai following close behind.

She jogged up a small flight of stairs and walked over to a small door. Araile opened the door to the small apartment and led Shinrai inside just as a black mass of howling fur hurtled itself towards her. Shinrai pushed her out of the way as the mass slammed itself against Shinrai's waist, knocking him to the ground.

Shaking her head, she looked up to see Shinrai flat on the ground with Takumi sitting majestically on top. Takumi's tail twitched as he peered down his muzzle at Shinrai.

Sighing, Araile stood up and dusted hers clothes off.

"Takumi...come on, get off him" she muttered as she pulled the demon off her friend.

Takumi snorted and trotted towards the kitchen, his tail lifted high in the air.

"What was that?" Shinrai huffed as he got up.

"My companion, Takumi. He can be a little...judgmental at times" Araile said, helping Shinrai off the floor.

A bark echoed through the kitchen, as if to prove her point.

"Yes, Your Majesty" she joked and-with Shinrai in toll-walked into the kitchen where Takumi was sitting patiently.

She let go of Shinrai's hand and charged towards Takumi. Takumi yipped and ran towards the other side of the kitchen, and Araile ran after him, giggling.

"Gotcha!" she declared as she wrapped her arms around Takumi's chest.

Panting slightly, she noticed Shinrai grinning at her, causing her to look away with a slight blush on her cheeks. Araile busied herself with giving Takumi a good scratch on the belly in order to get her face to cool down.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 coming right up! Thanks to Tofulord (love the name!) and microbotted for favouriting this fanfiction :) Please leave a review to let me know how you are liking this story or even if you don't like it! I don't own Naruto...though I wish I did.**

A knock at the door caught Araile's attention as she sat on the floor. Pushing herself up on her elbow, she raised herself up into a sitting position, intent on answering the door.

"I'll get it" Shinrai said quietly, and turned away before she had the chance to say anything.

"Oh...um okay" she said, shocked and a bit surprised.

Shinrai continued down the hallway, silently willing his heartbeat to slow. Thankfully, Araile didn't seem to notice how red his cheeks had gotten when she looked at him. Shinrai could still feel the heat in his cheeks.

As he opened the front door, Shinrai blinked in surprise when he noticed a young man standing there, a mixture of shock and rage filling his golden eyes. Blinking against the glare of the sun, Shinrai noticed how much the stranger looked like Araile. Were they related somehow?

"Can I help you?" Shinrai asked, studying the stranger on the doorstep.

"Who are you? You don't live here!" the stranger bit out angrily, gold eyes flashing dangerously.

"N-no. I'm staying with her. I'm a friend of Araile's" Shinrai stammered, taken back by the man's anger towards him.

At the mention of her name, the stranger growled low in his throat and lunged forward, grabbing Shinrai by his throat and slamming Shinrai against the side of the apartment.

"How do you know my sister? Who are you?!" the man snarled, leaning close to Shinrai's face.

Gasping, Shinrai grabbed at the man's hand as he tried to work through his mind on how this man was so fast.

"Answer me!" the man shouted, his hand squeezing Shinrai's throat even more.

"Kane! What're you doing?! Quit it!" Araile cried out as she walked towards her brother, who was holding a very blue-looking Shinrai.

The 14 year old had decided to investigate as to why it was taking her friend so long to answer the door. When she noticed the door was wide open and no Shinrai, she jogged over to see what was going on.

And good thing she did. Kane let out another snarl, pressing Shinrai to the wall even more. Letting out a growl, Araile did the only thing she could think of: she ran towards Kane and rammed her head against his side and fell back on her back. Letting out a surprised grunt, Kane released Shinrai. Shinrai slid down to the ground and rested his head against his knees, coughing and spluttering.

"You know this boy?" he asked calmly.

"Yes! He's my friend!" Araile said in an exasperated tone while still rubbing her back.

"Hm, I see" Kane said, and gazed over to Shinrai, who glared right back.

"What do you want anyways?" she said, angry that Kane was acting like this.

"I came to see my sister. Is that a crime?" Kane said smoothly.

Araile scoffed at her brother, and went to help Shinrai up off the ground. Putting an arm around Shinrai's back, she guided her friend back inside the apartment.

"I don't mind you coming to see me, but I would really like if my big brother not beat up my friends" she called over her shoulder as she walked Shinrai to the couch.

Plopping herself down on the small couch, Araile leaned her back against the cushion with a sigh. Her stomach muscles clenched and un-clenched as she regarded her brother through narrowed gold eyes.

Why was he here? He had never come to visit her for no reason. Her tail twitched as her annoyance towards Kane peaked. He didn't have to attack Shinrai for God's sake! That was uncalled for. He needed to learn the precious lesson of patience and common sense.

'_Kakashi would be a good teacher for that kind of stuff'_ Araile mused to herself.

As Shinrai sat down beside her, she let out an amused snort at the image of Kane meditating. This caused Shinrai to raise an eyebrow at her.

"What?" he said, poking her in the thigh.

"Nothing" she giggled, the image of Kakashi pummelling Kane after amusing her greatly.

Shinrai shrugged at his friend, and turned his gaze towards Kane.

"So you're Araile's older brother huh? I can see the resemblance" Shinrai said quietly, and Kane nodded.

"I wanted to ask you a question, boy" Kane stated as he crossed his arms.

"Shinrai, his name is Shinrai" Araile corrected.

Where was her brother going with this?

"Whatever. What are your intentions with my sister?" Kane continued.

She choked on her spit and started coughing as Shinrai gaped at her brother, looking like a fish out of water. Getting her breath back, she turned wide eyes on her brother.

"W-what?! Where did that come from?" she gasped, cheeks starting to heat up.

Kane stood there, gazing intently at Shinrai.

"U-um..well...I don't know yet" Shinrai stuttered, cheeks beginning to turn red.

"Okay! Time for you to leave now Kane! Bye bye!" Araile said as she jumped off the couch and steered her brother towards the front door.

"A simple question" he answered calmly, and strolled out the door and down the front stairs.

Her golden eyes trailed after Kane, tail twitching. The nerve of that man, asking such a question! What kind of question was that anyways? Where was he going with that? Did he somehow know how you felt about Shinrai?

Another thought popped into her head: did Shinrai feel the same about her?

Questions began swirling in Araile's mind as she closed the front door quietly. Looking at her friend, her tail twitched slightly when she noticed how Shinrai's head was lowered; his eyes had a faraway look to them as his hands rested on his knees. The knuckles hosted a valley of nicks and scars.

A need to run her cheek over those knuckles ran through her mind, causing her cheeks to burn. Shaking her head slightly, she walked up to her dear friend.

"Hey" she said quietly, breaking Shinrai out of his trance.

"Don't worry about Kane. His bark is basically worse then his bite" she said, smiling softly.

Shinrai smiled back, causing butterflies to fly around in her stomach.

"I know. He's just looking after you" Shinrai said.

Tail twitching restlessly, Araile suddenly grabbed his hand, startling Shinrai as she tugged him off the couch.

"Come on let's go outside and hang out!" Araile said cheerily.

"O-okay" Shinrai stammered, butterflies beginning to race through his stomach as soon as her hand grabbed his.

Smiling widely, she opened the door and ran outside, breathing in the fresh air. The sun was shining high in the sky, and there was not a single cloud in the blue sky. Birds chirped and flew from tree to tree as she led Shinrai to a field. Araile had trained in this field when she was younger when she was bored and Kakashi was not there to entertain her.

"A field? Why a field?" Shinrai asked, confused as to why she led him here.

Smiling mischievously, Araile tapped him on the shoulder.

"Tag! You're it!" she shouted, and ran towards a row of trees.

Laughing, Shinrai took off behind her, fully intent on catching her. She swerved back and forth between some exposed tree roots and bushes, trying to lose Shinrai. She could hear Shinrai behind her as she crashed through some bushes. Shinrai could hear Araile panting and giggling lightly as she ran, legs working furiously.

Stopping suddenly, Shinrai had an idea. He jumped up on a high tree branch and began jumping from branch to branch, gaining an advantage. Araile slowed and hid behind a large tree trunk, still panting and giggling at the same time. Her ears swivelled back and forth as she tried to locate where Shinrai was.

Wasn't he running behind her? Risking a peak, she looked around the trunk. Frowning, she blinked when she didn't see her friend.

Was she too fast for Shinrai that she lost him somewhere in the bushes? Yes, that must of been it. Grinning, Araile crept around the tree trunk.

Suddenly a dark shape crashed into her back, startling her. A shriek left her lips as she landed on her stomach. Her pulse pounded in her ears as a heavy object sat on her back. Squirming, the 14 year old tried to flip over, but to no avail.

A laugh broke through her panic-stricken mind.

"Got you!" Shinrai crowed gleefully, sitting on top of her.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned her head and playfully glared up at her friend.

"Okay, now get off me. You're heavy!" Araile huffed.

Shinrai thankfully got off from her back and offered a hand towards her. Araile accepted his hand, smiling as he helped her up.

"How did you catch me?" she asked as she brushed her shirt free of leaves and twigs.

"I was above in the trees" he answered, watching her hand as she fixed her shirt.

"Oh, smart! I never thought of that" Araile said.`


	11. Chapter 11

**Here is an extra long chapter for all you beautiful people out there who read my fanfiction! A thanks to KimikoHatakeUzumaki and joninsensei123456 for putting this story in your favourites!**

Shinrai grinned widely as the two teens walked along the forest edge. As the sun streamed through the trees, Shinrai couldn't help but notice how her gold eyes sparkled at two butterflies that were flying closely together. They flew so close to each other that they almost touched, and then fluttered apart.

Or how her giggle sent a small thrill through his veins. Or how her smile created a dimple on the left side of her face.

Yup, he had fallen in love with his best friend.

"Wah-hey!" Shinrai startled as the two butterflies flew into his face, causing Shinrai to step back and fall on his butt.

Laughing loudly, Araile helped him up as the two cheeky butterflies flew off into the depth of the forest.

"Are you okay?" she giggled as Shinrai dusted himself off.

"Yeah" Shinrai grumbled, his pride hurt hurting then his body.

Giggling, she continued to walk. Hearing a low growl behind her, Araile turned around just in time for Shinrai to barrel into her, knocking both teens to the ground. Gasping, her breath left her lungs, and her tail twitched in annoyance.

"Hey! What was that for?" Araile demanded, her ears flat against her head as she glared at Shinrai.

"Just because" Shinrai stated with a smirk as he looked at her face.

A frown pulled at her lips as Shinrai continued looking at Araile's face. Even though she was annoyed, she was still pretty cute. In fact, her annoyance made her even cuter. Cue in the butterflies and molten heat running through his veins.

Leaning down, his lips brushed gently against hers. Araile started in surprise, but then her eyes slid shut as a series of feelings washed over her body. She had never felt this way before in her life.

She had just felt butterflies before when she had first encountered Shinrai all those years ago. But this was something different...something more.

All around her was Shinrai's scent, and nothing but that scent mattered anymore. The sensations were like a drug to the 14 year old, and Shinrai was the only one who could administer it.

She wanted more of it.

A noise made itself at the back of her throat as she hesitantly raised her arms and rubbed her hands gently against his arms and back. Shinrai had definitely grown up. Muscles jumped and rippled against her feather-like touch as her hands moved up and down his arms. Her fingers then hesitantly travelled up his spine and to the soft tendrils of Shinrai's hair.

An approving groan rumbled through Shinrai as she ran her fingers through his hair. His hair was as soft as silk against her fingers. Araile let out a soft gasp as Shinrai's left hand went down and massaged her hip. Little shocks of pleasure ran through her body as the tip of her tail twitched back and forth. Shinrai's other hand went up to cup the back of her head, altogether deepening his kiss. Heat began to coil in the pit of her stomach at all the contact.

To her, Shinrai's lips were everything: soft, hard, yearning, questioning, passionate, and gentle. Her hands gripped Shinrai's tunic as his mouth left hers and began to wander down her jaw and down her slender neck.

When he reached a spot between her neck and shoulder, a breathy squeak left her lips, causing him to grin.

_'Right there huh? Alright then!_' Shinrai thought as he altered between sucking and kissing that one spot, making the teen squirm beneath him.

More breathy sounds left her lips as Shinrai continued his assault on her neck. Two could play at that game. An idea suddenly popped into her head, and Araile snaked her hands through an open spot in his tunic. Flexing her fingers, she ran her nails down his spine, causing Shinrai to shiver.

Snickering, Araile continued. Call it payback for what he was doing, if you will. A low growl sounded from Shinrai as he grabbed her arms in his, intertwining both of their fingers.

"Araile..." Shinrai started, causing her to gaze up at her friends face.

She never noticed how clear his eyes were.

"What do you want?" he asked, uncertainty clear in his voice.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she gazed up at the teen. He looked so unsure and worried as he gazed down at her, biting his lip. What did she want? Her heart began to pound. Did she want this? She mentally shook her head. This was Shinrai, the boy she trained with and talked with for 2 years. This wasn't some teen who barely knew her.

Gazing up at Shinrai, the answer became clear to her.

"You" Araile breathed as she crashed her lips against his.

A sudden rumbling caught both teens attention.

"What was that?" Araile whispered, fingers tightening against Shinrai's neck.

Shinrai looked around, eyes alert and darting. He too had felt something, and it felt extremely dangerous.

He sat up on his knees, twigs and leaves falling from his rumpled shirt. Araile's eyes scanned the forest and the tops of the buildings, looking for any signs of danger. An explosion suddenly blasted through the nearest building, making her gasp. Shinrai quickly covered her body with his own as the sound wave came hurtling in their direction. Dust and debris pelted against their unprotected skin, leaving scratches and marks.

Her ears twitched as the screams of the villagers reached her. Eyes wide, she scrambled up from the ground, knocking Shinrai over in her haste.

"Araile! Wait where are you going?!" Shinrai shouted as he watched her running form.

"I have to go back and find Kakashi!" she shouted back to Shinrai as she ran as fast as her legs could manage towards the panicking village.

"_Please be okay!"_ Araile thought desperately as she ran towards the column of smoke.

Skidding to a halt, her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped as the sight in front of her: building debris littered the ground, people running and screaming for cover, and some people not moving on the ground. Blood was everywhere: on the ground, on the buildings, and even on some villagers. What happened?

Ninjas screamed out orders to their teammates as they ran to different streets, some up on the rooftops of burning houses. Everywhere the teen looked there was chaos. Clashes of weapons sounded here and there as rogue ninja battled against Konoha ninja.

Eyes wide, Araile was knocked onto her back as another earth-shattering tremble ripped through the street. Her back slammed against the concrete, leaving her gasping for breath. What was that?! Coughing from all the dirt and dust in the air, Araile managed to get on her hands and knees. Footsteps appeared in front of her suddenly, and she looked up.

A male figure stood in front of her stared calmly down at the gasping teen before raising its foot and slammed it into her forehead. Yelping, Araile flew back and smashed into the side of a building. She lay among the fallen bricks, gasping for breath as her head throbbed. People screamed and ran from the building, trying to get out of the way.

Dark laughter floated over to her as the footsteps got closer to her. Gritting her teeth, Araile pushed her body up and out of the rubble, blood trickling down from her temple.

"Hello my dear. Did you miss me?" a cold and smooth voice asked.

_"That voice..."_ Araile thought, eyes widening in surprise.

"Don't remember? Oh, I'm insulted" the figure stated with mock sadness, before letting out an evil cackle.

"Let me help you remember!" the man said as he swung his foot around and slammed it into her ribs, sending her flying onto the street.

The teen cried out as gravel and rocks dug into her skin. When she skidded to a stop, she slowly pushed herself up, wincing as her scraped skin protested.

"Ishimaru" she hissed, ears pinned back in anger.

"Ah, you do remember me. How touching" Ishimaru grinned as he slowly walked towards her.

Growling, Araile stood up on shaky legs as the demon walked slowly towards her.

"What do you want?" she spat, blood tickling down her body in a steady stream from the many cuts she had gotten.

"Want? Why, I just want to destroy everyone. Starting with you and your friends!" Ishimaru said gleefully as he suddenly rushed towards her.

Araile leaned back at the last second, just barely managing to dodge his attack. He brought his hand up and aimed for her chest, managing to hit her sternum. Gasping and coughing, Araile jumped back. Laughing, Ishimaru darted towards her, but disappeared in front of her eyes. Her eyes darted around, trying to pinpoint where Ishimaru had gone. A punch to her back caused her to spin around in the opposite direction, but no one was there.

Tail lashing back and forth, she turned her head quickly when she saw a flash of silver to her right. A hard kick to her side forced a yelp out of Araile as Ishimaru continued his assault, an evil laughter echoing in her ears. Gritting her teeth, she scrambled up off the ground. She couldn't react in time! He was too fast for her eyes to follow!

Panting, her ears twitched back and forth as the villagers continued to scream and run for their lives. Maniacal laughter sounded from behind her, and Araile quickly turned her head around as Ishimaru slammed his foot into the middle of her back.

The force of the blow slammed her body to the ground, and she rolled until she smashed into a vendor's cart. Wood and nails flew in different directions as she struggled to get on her hands and knees.

"In your position my dear, I highly suggest you just give up" Ishimaru laughed as he walked towards her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Here is the next chapter of this fanfiction. Thanks to Y-Fronts for favouring this fanfiction. I hope this chapter is to your standard! :)**

Grunting, Araile stood up on shaking and bruised legs.

"That'll never happen" she bit out as blood trickled down her limbs and onto the ground.

Ishimaru gave an evil cackle that made her ears flatten. It sent chills down to her spine and made her stomach muscles clench. Growling, Araile lunged at the demon and aimed a punch towards his abdomen. He stepped to the side, easily dodging her attacks as she alternated from punches to kicks.

She came back with another punch, this time aimed towards Ishimaru's neck. Instead of dodging her attack, he grabbed her hand an inch away from her targeted area.

Smirking, Ishimaru brought his free hand up and rammed his fist into her side, where a particular still-healing scar was located. A loud yelp sounded from her throat as she squirmed, trying to free herself from Ishimaru's grasp. It felt like numerous kunai were digging into her skin. Unfortunately, that only caused the demon to tighten his hold on her as he delivered punch after punch to her side and abdomen.

Ishimaru finally released her hand and she immediately brought it to her chest, grasping the fabric of her shirt and gasping. Soon, her legs gave out from the pain, and Araile slumped to the ground where she sat there, coughing and gasping for breath.

"Still as weak as before" Ishimaru sighed heavily, and started to walk in the opposite direction.

Gritting her teeth, Araile brought one knee up and then another as she willed her muscles to move. Slowly, she got to her feet and got into one of the fighting positions her brother had taught her. Hearing the gravel move from behind him, Ishimaru turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"Still up for another go my dear? Still as stubborn as before" he laughed, and walked towards her.

As he walked closer to the teen, a sudden sensation washed over her body. Grimacing, she failed to realize that Ishimaru stood before her.

"I suggest you pay attention to your opponent" Ishimaru said as he kicked his foot into her stomach.

Crying out, Araile flew back a few meters into some boxes. Pain laced her body all over as she tried to stand up, but slumped down when her body didn't want to do anymore fighting. The sensation returned, even more powerful than before. Ears flattened against her head, Araile flinched as she began to recognize this sensation. She felt it the last time she changed into a full demon.

_"No! I can't let this overcome me! Gotta fight it! Gotta fight" _she frantically thought as she managed to stumble from the wreckage.

Ishimaru suddenly appeared behind her and slammed his elbow into her back, causing the teen to slam to her knees.

"I know you're hiding your true power. There is something inside you that is like me: powerful" Ishimaru stated as he walked around her trembling form.

Her muscles began to spasm as her canines began to grow longer. Digging her fingers into the ground, the 14 year old gritted her teeth and willed the change away.

_"No! I won't change into that! I won't!"_ she cried in her mind as another muscle spasm overcame her.

Laughing, Ishimaru watched with glee as her nails began to grow longer and sharper.

"You can't fight it, my dear. Let it embrace you" he hissed as Araile let out a strangled cry, her body twitching and contorting into weird angles.

"No!" she cried as she squeezed her eyes shut from the pain of her full demon form trying to take over.

Ishimaru smirked and brought his leg up to aim a powerful kick at her, but stopped. A furious snarl echoed from down the street, and Ishimaru blinked when a black form squeezed itself between Araile and Ishimaru. It gave a low and angry growl, eyes blazing with hate. Opening one eye, her breathing hitched slightly when she saw her demon companion standing in front of her.

"Takumi..." Araile gasped, and gave another strangled cry as the full demon energy battered at her will.

Takumi growled, baring his teeth at Ishimaru. He was the enemy who hurt his friend, and that meant that he had to pay with his blood. Takumi's tail lashed back and forth and he crouched low to the ground, ready to pounce. Ishimaru laughed at the sight, making Takumi's fur stand up. Launching himself, Takumi dodged a punch from Ishimaru and raked his sharp nails down Ishimaru's side, earning the demon creature some curses. Takumi pounced again latched his jaws around Ishimaru's hand; blood gushing into the demon's mouth and onto the ground. Shouting a curse, Ishimaru suddenly took out a dangerous looking knife from his belt.

Araile's eyes widened when she saw what was going to happen.

"Takumi! Let go! Get off of him!" she shouted as she struggled to stand.

Before Takumi could do anything, Ishimaru sunk the knife into Takumi's chest and through his heart. The demon dog gave a high pitched yelp and dropped to the ground, blood rushing from his chest wound. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw her friend lying still.

"Well, now that my fun is over, I must bid you goodbye, my dear. You would do best to seek me out. _He _wants you too" Ishimaru sneered.

Laughing, he then threw the knife away and turned away, disappearing in a small puff of smoke. Blood rushed in her ears as Araile stared at her friend, hoping and praying to the gods that he was alive.

"Takumi..." she whispered as she dragged her body towards him.

As she reached the demon's side, she hesitantly brushed a hand against his fur. Takumi's eyes opened slowly and he gave a small bark.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry" Araile whimpered, tears beginning to fill her eyes as she sat up and gently rested Takumi's upper part of his body against her knees, not noticing Takumi's blood staining her pants.

Takumi gave a little twitch of his tail and slowly licked her hand, as if to say that it was alright. He did his duty as a companion and protected her. He gave a final shuddering breath, then was still.

Araile's pupils narrowed as her heart stopped. Takumi was no longer moving on her lap; his tail limp against the ground.

"T-Takumi? Takumi! No don't go!" Araile begged as tears slid down her cheeks and onto Takumi's cold fur.

"TAKUMI!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as she clutched his body to hers.

Sobbing hysterically, she continued to hug his body against hers. It felt like her heart was ripping into little pieces. He was her friend and supposed to be with her for a long time. Her sobs continued to wrack her body as some Konoha ninjas came and found the two. Kakashi came with them and his eye softened when he saw the 14 year old, bloody and beaten, holding her friend against her chest and sobbing Takumi's name over and over again.

One ninja came up to the distraught girl and knelt down beside her.

"Araile, you have to let go of him" he said gently, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Flinching, she looked up and glared at the ninja.

"Don't touch him" she growled, and went back to sobbing.

Sighing, the ninja stood up and walked back to the rest of the group.

"Let's go guys. There's nothing we can do here" the ninja said to his friends, and they walked away.

Footsteps came towards Araile, causing her to clutch Takumi's body even tighter.

"Araile" Kakashi said gently as he walked over to her.

Sighing, Kakashi knelt beside her and waited silently. Finally, her sobs reduced to sniffles and hiccups.

"He's gone" she whispered, stroking Takumi's head.

Hurried footsteps came towards the small group, along with a sigh of relief.

"Araile! There you are!" Shinrai's voice floated through her grief filled mind.

"What happened?" Shinrai asked as he walked over to her trembling form and knelt down beside her.

"He's gone. Takumi is gone" Araile murmured, and Shinrai frowned sadly.

She gently slid Takumi's upper body down to the ground and began to tremble, her shoulders shaking with grief.

"I'm sorry" he said, and pulled her body into a hug.

Tears filled her eyes, and she clutched Shinrai's tattered shirt as more sobs came. He tightened his hold with one arm on Araile's back as the other arm came up and gently stroked the back of her head. Shinrai's warmth flowed into her body, and her limbs went slack from the fight and pain. Shinrai slipped his arms under her shoulders and under her knees and carefully stood up as Araile's eyes fluttered shut. Her mind slowly drifted into darkness as Shinrai's warmth and smell surrounded the battered girl. Kakashi picked up Takumi's body gently and began to walk towards the forest, his steps heavy with sadness.

"Go back to the apartment Shinrai. I'll be there soon" Kakashi said, before disappearing around the corner.

Shinrai nodded sadly and began the trek of carrying Araile's limp body to Kakashi's apartment. Gritting his teeth, Shinrai took in the extent of her injuries. He should have been there! If those cursed rogue bandits didn't distract him, Shinrai would have been there to help her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Here is chapter 13! I hope everyone enjoys! This chapter is a bit shorter then the others, and I apologize for that. University is getting harder, and I'm trying to concentrate all my attention to not failing and staying ahead of assignments and tests. Anywho, again enjoy!**

As Shinrai opened the door to Kakashi's apartment, his mind continued to whirl. What were all these rogue ninja doing in this village? Who was this Ishimaru guy? What was he doing here? Why was he attacking only Araile? Did she know him?

Shinrai's arms tightened momentarily around the slumbering girl, causing a faint whimper of pain to slip past her lips. Looking down at her, Shinrai's expression softened. He quietly walked down the hallway and entered what he assumed was her bedroom. A quick look around confirmed his suspicions; half the wall was decorated with paintings and drawings that looked like a child had created them, and a blue cat sat at the top of a single pillow.

Shinrai's lips curved into a small smile as he gently laid Araile on her bed. Her limbs began shaking as soon as Shinrai pulled away, and Shinrai quickly and quietly sat beside her trembling form. Her brows furrowed as her breaths came in panicked gasps.

As gently as he could, he situated his bruised body on her bed so that her back was resting against Shinrai's chest; his arm drapped protectively around her waist. He then pulled the blanket over both of them gently.

He let out a sigh of relief as he felt her muscles relaxed and her breathing returned to normal. Softly, Shinrai propped himself up on his other arm and brought his other hand to hers. He traced his finger around her hand and over each individual scar that marred the surface.

"What kind of things did you do that gave you each scar?" Shinrai murmured as he gazed at hersleeping form.

Sighing, Shinrai laid his head against the edge of Araile's pillow and closed his eyes.

Everything hurt from her head to the tips of her toes. Especially her heart. Takumi was gone, killed by Ishimaru and it was all because of her. If Ishimaru hadn't come or finished her off, Takumi would still be alive. She would walk in the apartment and hear the clatter of nails against the floor, and hear Takumi's excited barking as she got him a treat.

They would spend hours playing and wrestling on the floor with each other, and she would listen to his ferocious snarling as his mouth locked around her arm. Of course, Takumi never bit down whenever one of her limbs was in his mouth. Araile would snuggle up with Takumi on her bed as she would wait for sleep to overcome her.

But that wouldn't happen anymore. All because she was weak.

Opening her eyes slowly, she noticed she was in her room. When did she get here? Wasn't she outside a couple minutes ago? Something was radiating warmth on her back and around her waist. Turning her head slowly she focused her gaze on her friend, who was sleeping peacefully. Blinking, Araile looked down briefly to see that he had pulled the blanket over both of them. The blanket kept the teens warm, and Araile smiled softly. Her smile soon disappeared when her gaze returned to Shinrai.

Shinrai looked as battered as she felt, and probably looked too.

Inhaling slowly, her nose caught a whiff of peppermint that she secretly adored so much. Shifting her body slightly, Araile managed to turn her body around so that she was snuggled against her friends warm chest. She felt Shinrai's arm tighten around her waist, and her tail twitched slightly. A small smile graced her lips as she continued to gaze at Shinrai's face.

She still couldn't believe how much he'd grown over the last couple of years. Exhaustion tugged at her body again and she leaned her forehead against Shinrai's neck, breathing in the smell of peppermint each time she inhaled.

Soon, Araile fell into a deep slumber as her body began the slow process of healing.

As Kakashi returned to his apartment, he walked quietly inside and closed the door. He walked quietly down the hall and peered into Araile's room, smiling slightly at the sight before him. His old charge was snuggled tight against Shinrai, her hand clenched around his shirt. Shinrai's arm was circled around her waist as if to protect her from further harm.

Kakashi sighed gently and walked to his own room. Tomorrow he would need to bring a medical nin here so that both Araile and Shinrai would get their wounds taken care of.

What a day this was turning out to be.


	14. Chapter 14

**I hope everyone enjoys chapter 14! As usual, I don't own Naruto.**

Streams of sunlight cascaded from the window and floated along a lean and muscular arm as the birds outside began their search for a morning meal, singing to their little heart's content. The sunlight continued along the arm until it came in contact with a sleeping face. That face squinted their closed eyes against the sunlight and turned to rest its face against a pillow.

The sunlight then decided to move to another face, one that was masculine and roughed up. That face didn't react like the first face and continued on sleeping, letting out little snores now and then.

Sunlight: 1

Face: 1

Sighing lightly, Araile's eyes opened slowly. Blearily, she sat up and looked around her room, finally fixing her gaze on Shinrai. His hair was messed up from the fight yesterday and sleeping, and his arm had loosely wrapped itself around her waist. It slipped down o rest at his side when Araile sat up as Shinrai continued sleeping.

Her muscles gave a yell of protest as she moved her legs to sit cross legged. Turning around, she stared around her room, her eyes still filled with sadness. A small part of her still waited for the clatter of claws as Takumi would dash into her room and anxiously wait for her to wake up and give him some food.

But she knew that wouldn't happen anymore. Kakashi had taken Takumi somewhere, and Araile didn't know where. A creak in the floorboards snapped her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she noticed her old caregiver standing in the doorway. She stretched out her legs and carefully climbed over Shinrai, who remained blissfully asleep.

She reached the edge of her bed, slowly swinging her feet to the ground. Letting out a cringe from her wounds, she stood up and walked slowly to Kakashi, her ears and tail drooped low.

"How are you feeling today kiddo? You were roughed up pretty badly yesterday" Kakashi asked softly as he put his hand on her head.

Closing her gold eyes, Araile leaned against his side, feeling the warmth of his body against hers.

"Come with me" Kakashi said as he led her down the hallway and to the front door.

Opening the door, the bright sunlight shone straight in her face. Turning away, she closed her eyes and let Kakashi lead her to wherever he was going. Looking around, she noticed that a lot of the buildings had a lot of damage done to them and some were completely destroyed. People were walking around or helping others to rebuild buildings. Seeing all this destruction caused her heart to sink. It was all because of Ishimaru and his rogue ninjas and bandits that all this destruction happened.

Blinking, Araile noticed that they were now in the forest. Kakashi continued walking, steering her deeper and deeper into the foliage. Finally, they entered a clearing and her eyes widened as she set her sights on a structure in the middle.

A grave was in the middle with flowers in a stone vase on each side. It was a solid structure made of some kind of shiny black stone, and at the bottom were 3 rectangular slabs that went from largest to smallest. At the top was a long rectangular slab of rock that stood straight into the sky.

Takumi's name was carved into long rectangular slab. Araile slowly walked towards the grave, her eyes beginning to water as she took in the sight. So this is what Kakashi was doing all last night. A small smile curved her lips as she touched one of the petals on one of the flowers.

"Thank you" she said softly, and Kakashi smiled gently.

The 14 year old sank to her rear and pulled her knees to her chest, resting her chin on the top of her knees. Her ears twitched as Kakashi placed a hand on her head and walked away, leaving her alone to her thoughts and Takumi's grave.

Sighing, her mind began to wander. After a while, she began to notice how much her limbs hurt, but that didn't matter.

A month.

One month had passed since her friend was killed. Every day Araile would sit at Takumi's grave and stare into nothingness. Every day she would come to the same grave, sit in the same spot, in the same position. Araile would always rest her chin on her knees, with her arms wrapped tightly around her shins. He was killed because of her.

The villagers had begun to rebuild the buildings that were damaged in the rogue ninja attack, and everyone was working hard. Slowly, the village was coming together.

A tremor wracked through her frame as her stomach let out a pitiful growl. She had barely eaten anything in that month, and it was beginning to show. Her gold eyes had dulled and she had barely talked to anyone, even Shinrai. Her limbs became thin and bony. Her heart felt heavy, and a cold pit had permanently taken up residence inside her stomach.

It was torture trying to get food into her stomach. Kakashi had brought out a medical-nin, much to the girl's annoyance, so he could look at her wounds. They were superficial; cuts and bruises that would heal over time. A medical-nin couldn't heal a broken heart though.

A gentle breeze blew through the clearing, causing the leaves on the branches to twitch and dance. A twig snapped nearby, causing her ear to twitch slightly.

"Araile?" a voice said from behind her.

She didn't bother to answer.

"Araile, please come back" the voice said.

Still no answer.

Footsteps sounded from behind her, and Araile barely batted an eyelash when that someone sat down beside her. The smell of peppermint floated into her nose, and her breathing increased slightly. Shinrai was here. Her ear twitched as her friend sighed. He was worried about her.

She barely ate and barely slept.

He could see bags begin to form under her eyes. Her ears were constantly drooped, and she didn't say a word to anyone. Shinrai wanted to comfort her, to grab her and hold her in his arms and never let go. He wanted to take her to the hospital and stay with her until she was better. He wanted to do a bunch of things, but didn't know how to start. Letting out another sigh, he sat beside her and didn't say a word. This would be the next best thing.

Another tremor went through Araile as the wind blew again.

"I'm...a failure" she said quietly, her voice hoarse from the lack of use.

"Huh? No you're not! Is this because of what happened?" Shinrai exclaimed in shock, staring at her with wide eyes.

She nodded slowly.

"Araile, you're not a failure! That crazy guy did this, not you! Takumi wanted to save you, and he did. He wouldn't want to see you like this" Shinrai stated firmly.

She blinked slowly, and with those words the floodgates opened. She buried her head in her knees and slapped a hand to her mouth as sobs raked through her. Tears dripped down her hand and onto her lap as she felt Shinrai put his arm around her shoulders. His body heat began to warm her shaking muscles as she let all of her emotions out.


	15. Chapter 15

**I hope this chapter works...I came to check on my story and for some reason Chapter 15 was all messy. I hope I've fixed it!**

Araile's muscles couldn't-and wouldn't-move from their position as she leaned against Shinrai for comfort. His body heat seeped into her muscles, relaxing and soothing them. Her eyelids drooped until they closed, and remained closed as sleep finally overcame her. Shinrai stayed with her in the same position so he wouldn't wake her up as every muscle in her body became limp and relaxed.

Quiet breaths reached his ears as she slept. A gentle smile crossed Shinrai's lips as he leaned his head against her head softly, enjoying the silence. After a couple minutes had passed, something began to bother Shinrai. A rather annoying small rock was poking him in his leg, and the cool damp ground was beginning to seep into his pants.

This was a bit of a dilemma. If Shinrai moved, he would most certainly wake Araile up...but if he didn't he would surely become even more uncomfortable, and wouldn't be able to stay in this position much longer.

Decision made! He was moving.

Quietly, he shifted his legs until he was leaning back. As expected, Araile's body began to slide forward. Shinrai knew this would happen, and easily situated her in his arms so that he was holding her under her shoulders and knees. To Shinrai's delight, she didn't stir.

He carefully got up and looked at Takumi's grave, sending a quick prayer to her demon companion. He didn't personally know Takumi, but he had looked after Araile when she was living with Kakashi, and to that he was grateful. As he entered the village, he noticed that it was beginning to look more like a village and less of a destruction site.

"What a nice village" Shinrai thought to himself as he continued walking with Araile still sleeping in his arms.

Continuing on, Shinrai found himself at her old apartment where Kakashi had taken care of her since she was a young toddler. Suddenly nervous, Shinrai walked up the steps and quietly knocked on the door with a free hand. He had only seen Kakashi, but never talked to him face-to-face. He didn't want to mess this moment up and make Kakashi not like him. A small shudder ran down Shinrai's back as his mind began to conjure up images of how bad it would be if Kakashi didn't like Shinrai.

"Hello?" a voice said, breaking Shinrai out of his thoughts.

Blinking, Shinrai found himself looking at the Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake. Gulping, Shinrai opened his mouth and an unmanly squeak came out. Mortified, Shinrai cleared his throat and tried again.

"I brought Araile back home" Shinrai said quietly, happy that he didn't squeak again.

"I see. Thank you very much, you can bring her into her room if you don't mind" Kakashi said with a small smile.

"Y-yes sir" Shinrai said, and quickly headed to Araile's room.

He quietly went into her room and placed her gently on her bed. Hesitating, Shinrai pulled the blanket over her thin frame and tucked it under her chin. Sighing softly, Araile snuggled into her pillow, tail twitching back and forth under the blanket as if she was about to pounce. As quietly as he could, Shinrai walked out of her room and closed the bedroom door.

"Thank you for bringing her back here, Shinrai. I can see you care for her very much" Kakashi said, coming out from the small kitchen.

"Yes sir. We became friends in the Land of Mortality" Shinrai said.

"I see. Well, you can stay here and rest" Kakashi said simply and returned to the kitchen.

Shinrai smiled, thankful that he wasn't messing this up. He walked to the couch and carefully sat down, testing the limits of the couch. Squishy and soft and comfortable. Immediately, Shinrai relaxed and leaned back against the cushions, it's softness embracing him.

He'd only rest for a couple minutes.

Only a couple...minutes...

Soon, Shinrai was in a deep sleep with his arms crossed over his chest. Some purple strands of hair slid from behind his ear and over his face. Kakashi smiled gently as he gazed at this young teen. He knew Shinrai was interested...no, crazy...about Araile. Shinrai was a good young man; Kakashi could sense this.

Groaning softly, Araile opened one eye. This wasn't the forest...and this was most certainly NOT Takumi's grave. She felt comfortable...too comfortable to be in the forest. Opening her other eye, she blinked as she took in the features of her own bedroom. Shifting, she felt bed sheets underneath her body.

When did she get back home? Wasn't she just in the forest with Shinrai? Her muscles protested silently as she gingerly sat up and put a hand to her forehead. Rubbing an eye with her fist, she slowly untangled herself from her blanket and walked slowly into the bathroom.

Araile turned on the shower, and waited for the hot water to arrive. Her mind still felt numb; her heart as heavy as her eyelids. Finally, the water temperature was to her liking, and she stepped into the shower after getting undressed. Closing her eyes, she let the warm water cascade down her hair and shoulders. It felt good on her sore muscles. Opening her eyes, Araile blinked in surprise when she noticed large amounts of dirty water going down the drain.

"How dirty was I?" she thought, wincing slightly as she took some shampoo and scrubbed it into her hair.

Her sheets and clothes would definitely have to be washed. Maybe even washed a couple times over.

Her tail twitched as she ran soap through the fur on it, and soon it was as white as her hair. Her feline ears got the same treatment. Next up was cleaning every inch of her skin. Her skin prickled from being scrubbed with the soap over and over again, but she wanted to feel clean. When Araile was clean to her own satisfaction, she turned off the shower and stepped out.

The cool air hit her like a brick wall and she let out a small yelp, quickly grabbing her towel and wrapping it around her body, shivering slightly.

"Where's that brush?" Araile murmured as she searched the counter for her hairbrush.

Smiling, she located the brush and set to work at brushing her wet hair. Grumbles arose from her lips when the brush caught on a few knots. When she was finally finished, she quickly scampered back to her bedroom to get changed. After putting on a long purple shirt and black shorts, she grabbed a smaller towel that was on her dresser and proceeded to wring out her wet locks.

Footsteps on the floor caused her to look up, and a small smile crossed her lips when she saw a sleepy-looking Shinrai walk in your room.

"Did you stay the entire night?" Araile asked quietly as Shinrai flopped down on her bed.

Shinrai yawned and nodded, leaning back against her pillow as she continued to towel dry her hair.

"Are you feeling better?" Shinrai asked, staring intently at her face.

"A little, but inside here still hurts" she said, and placed a hand on her chest.

Shinrai nodded slowly and sat up. Satisfied that her hair was dry enough, Araile threw the damp towel at Shinrai, giggling when it hit him in the face.

"Hey!" he yelped when the towel hit him.

"Come on! I want to go out and see everyone!" she chirped as she walked out of her room.

Smiling slightly, Shinrai placed the towel on her bed and followed her. He was glad she was feeling better. The past month was hard on the poor boy. Araile was knee-deep in sorrow, and didn't speak or eat or sleep. Every day, Shinrai's worry for her increased when she didn't return from Takumi's resting place.

Now, it seemed like she was starting to come around.

Taking a deep breath, Araile opened the front door to see the extent of the damage to her precious village. There was a lot of damage, but not as bad as she had thought. Buildings began to take on their original shape, and shops began to re-open. Closing the door behind Shinrai, she took his hand in hers and walked down the steps that led to the main road.

Smiling slightly, she saw how the villagers were helping with everything. Tail twitching, she brought Shinrai to a shop that sold bread and pastries. Her stomach suddenly demanded food, and she took out some money. Thankfully Araile had enough to buy a dozen muffins, and she walked to a small clearing close to a park.

Patting the ground beside her for Shinrai as she sat down, she opened the box and inhaled the heavenly aroma of the baked food. Soon, both teens were too busy to talk as they continued to polish off the muffins. As the last bite was taken, she sighed in happiness as her stomach digested the food.

"That was so good" she sighed as her mind entered muffin heaven.

Shinrai burped slightly, blushing from embarrassment. Araile laughed and tucked a stray strand of hair away from her face.

"Come on! Let's go on the swings!" she shouted as she shot up from her spot and raced across the grass to the swing set.

She loved the swing set ever since Kakashi brought her to this park when she was little. The feeling of getting up high on the swing was exhilarating and at times she swore that if she let go, she would fly over Konoha and keep on going. Giggling, she jumped on an empty swing and began to pump her legs back and forth, gaining speed and height.

Shinrai laughed and joined her, and soon the two teens were neck-in-neck for who could swing higher.


	16. Chapter 16

As the day wore on, both Araile and Shinrai were inseparable. Everything they both did together, and sometimes Shinrai held her hand but other times an overpowering shyness took a hold of her, causing Araile to jerk her hand away from Shinrai. It wasn't like she didn't want Shinrai to hold her hand; it was just her shyness that caused her to act this way. This caused Shinrai to frown slightly as the teens sat down on a bench. The boy liked her very much. He wanted to be with Araile, and to protect her from harm...but yet why was she too shy to simply hold his hand? Shinrai couldn't figure it out.

A giggle snapped Shinrai out of his thoughts. He looked towards her, and a smile graced his face. She was sitting on the bench with a small bird perched neatly on her shoulder. It's beady eyes blinked up at Araile and ruffled its feathers.

"Hello little bird" she said, smiling.

The bird blinked in return and took flight with a little hop from her shoulder. Araile's golden eyes gazed after the small bird as it flew away into the forest. A breeze suddenly blew, making the teen's hair dance and sway. A sudden sense of forebode crawled over her skin as the sun moved behind the clouds. Looking around, Araile's ears twitched as she tried to pin point where this sense was coming from. Shinrai seemed to have sensed it too as her gaze locked on her friend's form; his shoulders and back stiff.

"What is that?" the 14 year old murmured, standing up and looking around.

"I don't know, but I don't like it" Shinrai growled.

Her tail twitched back and forth as a cold pit formed in her stomach. Her ears continued to swivel in different locations as goose bumps ran down her arms. Shinrai grabbed her hand in his and squeezed, reassuring her. Whatever their bodies were reacting to, it was bad. Sudden footsteps approached from behind Araile and Shinrai, and a loud growl erupted from the back of her throat as she spun around to face the intruder. The growl immediately died as she saw a Jonin approach hastily.

"Araile! I've finally found you! You have to come with me immediately" the Jonin said hurriedly.

Her heart skipped a beat as her gold eyes noticed the fear in the man's face, and Shinrai squeezed her hand again. Taking a step towards the Jonin, she began to tremble.

"What happened?" Araile asked, fear making its way into her voice.

"It's Kakashi" he said.

Her pupils contracted as her mind suddenly went blank.

'Kakashi? What happened? Is he okay?' she thought as her heart raced.

Kakashi was the strongest ninja to her. There was no way something happened to him. No way. He could take on anyone here! Shinrai noticed his friend's distress and placed his remaining hand on her shoulder. He would be there for her no matter what.

"What happened to Kakashi-san?" Shinrai asked the Jonin quietly.

"He was in a battle with some missing nin when he went to help rescue the Kazekage" the Jonin said.

That name snapped Araile out of her thoughts. Kakashi had left on a mission with some other Konoha ninja to rescue the young Kazekage.

"Please, is he okay? Where is he?" she said, muscles trembling.

"Come with me" the Jonin said, and she nodded before following him with Shinrai's hand clasped tightly in hers.

It felt like ages before the trio walked up the steps to the hospital. Araile rushed through the door, pulling Shinrai along as she raced to Kakashi's hospital room. Bursting through the doors, she blinked when she noticed that his other Jonin friends were there, gathered around his bed.

"Kurenai!" Araile yelped as the only female Jonin enveloped her in a hug.

"Araile! I'm so glad you're okay" she said as she smiled down at her.

Her mother Haya and Kurenai had become friends during the short time her and her parents lived in Konoha. Blinking past tears, she gazed at her caregiver as he lay in the hospital bed, blanket draped over the lower portion of his face. Kakashi sighed, looking bored but in slight pain.

"What happened? Is Kakashi gonna be okay?" Araile asked, trying to keep the tears from falling.

Sighing, Kurenai looked at her comrade.

"He will be okay. The Hokage said he needs rest" she said, and the 14 year old sighed in relief.


	17. Chapter 17

"Araile? Someone is here to see you" a voice floated through the 14 year old's sleep-filled mind.

"Hm?" Araile groggily said as she raised her head from her arms, and Kakashi pointed to a space beside her.

It had been a couple of days since she stayed by Kakashi's hospital bedside on a chair, only getting up to feed herself and Shinrai or going to the bathroom. She wouldn't leave until her old caregiver was discharged. Blinking and looking around, she noticed Shinrai standing beside her.

Unlike Araile, Shinrai continued to go out around the village to do different things, from shopping to training. She lifted her arms above her head and pulled up, feeling a satisfying 'pop' from cracking joints. Unravelling her legs she slowly got up, rubbing a hand through her long hair.

Maybe it was time for her to get a haircut?

"How are you feeling?" Shinrai asked as she walked over to him, wrapping her arms around the boy's chest and feeling his one free arm tighten around her shoulders.

"The same" she murmured, voice muffled from pressing her face against the fabric of Shinrai's shirt.

"Araile, you should go outside" Kakashi said from the edge of his book.

Araile snorted and racked her fingers through her hair as Shinrai released her. Yes, definitely time for a haircut. Grabbing a hair elastic from her pocket, she pulled back her white and black hair into a high ponytail.

"Yeah, you just want to read your books more in private" she shot back, causing her old caretaker to sigh.

Nailed it.

Shinrai glanced at Araile, and a smile graced his features as he took notice: tendrils of hair escaped the elastic and hung down to frame her face. He had always liked her, ever since she showed up at the Land of Mortality but he never had the nerve to speak up. Now, he was older and more mature. He didn't have Taiyo to bully him anymore.

Giggling snapped Shinrai from his thoughts. Araile was looking at Shinrai with his dream-like expression and it made her laugh.

"Hey wanna walk around?" Shinrai suddenly.

Araile bit her lip anxiously.

What if Kakashi was discharged and she wasn't there? What if something went wrong? What if-

A hand in front of her face broke her out of her inner tirade and she looked down to see her old caretaker's smiling eye.

"Nothing will happen" Kakashi said.

"Okay" Araile agreed and took Shinrai's hand in hers, not noticing the slight blush that raced across Shinrai's cheeks.

She quickly put on sandals and followed Shinrai out the hospital door. The sun shone brightly and a warm wind blew around the two teens. A large smile crept over her face as Araile inhaled; the air fresh and full of scents of Konoha.

"Come on I'll race you to the training grounds!" Shinrai said as he took off in front of her.

Araile quirked an eyebrow and put on a burst of speed, following closely behind. Giggling, the two continued running towards the forest.

"I WIN!" both teens shouted at the same time when they touched a wooden post.

Panting, Shinrai pushed a strand of purple hair out of his eyes. Araile blinked and quickly looked away as a blush crept over her face. Her tail twitched back and forth as she leaned over and flicked him in the shoulder. Shinrai gave her a confused look before she did it again, and again, and again.

"Hey! Quit it!" he huffed, and Araile grinned.

"Make me" she snicked.

She reached out to flick him again, but this time Shinrai caught her hand in his. Letting out a squeak, she tried to pull her hand back, but Shinrai held on tightly. Araile suddenly kicked out and knocked Shinrai's feet from under him. He fell back, causing her to land on top of him due to Shinrai still holding onto her hand.

This led to a mini wrestling match as both tried to gain the upper hand. After a couple of minutes both teens laid on their backs, looking up at the sky and laughing. A blush rushed over her entire body as she realized that Shinrai still had her hand in his. Sighing happily Araile closed her eyes and leaned the back of her head on her arm, listening to the breeze rustling through the leaves in the trees.

"Hey Araile?" Shinrai asked from beside her.

"Yeah?" she answered, opening one eye.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

Shinrai was silent for a couple minutes, and Araile sat up, curious as to why her friend was so silent.

"Shinrai? What's the matter?" she asked, ear twitching nervously.

Shinrai sighed and sat up, legs crossed and a serious expression on his face. Her heart began pounding, and a little voice began telling her in her mind that he was going to tell her bad news. Was he leaving? Was he going to leave her again? Did he not like her? Did he not like Konoha? Was something bothering him? What was going-

"_...I really like you_."

Araile froze, a shocked expression on her face.

Well...she wasn't expecting that kind of news.

Shinrai noticed her shocked reaction and looked down at his lap, embarrassed. Maybe she didn't like him the same way? What an embarrassing thing to happen! A knot began forming in Shinrai's stomach as the object of his affection remained silent. Sighing, Shinrai moved to get up, but her answer stopped him dead in his tracks.

"I like you too" Araile said, a small smile gracing her features.

Shinrai's heart began to speed up as he processed this news.

"You do?" Shinrai asked, heart thumping in his ears loudly.

Araile nodded, her cheeks flushing hotly. Shinrai grinned and let out an excited 'whoop!', startling some nearby birds in a tree. He then grabbed her hands and spun her around in a circle, laughing loudly. Araile squealed in surprise then joined in the laughter, Shinrai's laughter being contagious.

Shinrai had never felt so happy in his life...except for finding Araile again of course. His eyes gleamed brightly in the sunshine as he continued spinning his love around and around.

"Shinrai! I'm getting dizzy!" Araile giggled and Shinrai let go of her hands, causing the dizzy 14 year old to flop onto the grass in a dizzy heap.

She blinked a couple of times, trying to get her eyesight to stop spinning. Shinrai flopped down beside her, causing some dandelion fluff to float over her. One seed landed on top of her nose, causing an annoying itch to rise. Rubbing her nose, Araile watched the innocent seed float up and fly away as a gentle breeze carried it away.

A bird chirped nearby, and her ear twitched.

"So what's next?" Shinrai spoke suddenly.

"Hm?" Araile hummed, not really paying attention.

The different scents of different flowers wafted over her, and some blades of grass tickled her neck and arms. Her mind began to wander as she basked from the sense of comfort in the field.

"What's next? Where do we go from here?" Shinrai spoke again, his purple eyes gazing up at the clouds that floated in the sky.

"I don't know" Araile answered truthfully.

And she truly didn't know. Where would this go? Would her and Shinrai get a house? How would she get a house? She never had any money; Kakashi had always provided for her or given her money to buy stuff. Would Kakashi even approve?

A rustle from beside her caught her attention, and Araile turned her head to see Shinrai sit up. Loose pieces of grass fell from his clothing.

"We'll figure this out" he stated firmly, a smile spreading across his face as he turned to look at Araile.

She smiled and nodded back.

"Come on, I'm hungry! Let's go back home" she said as her stomach decided to make its demands known.

Shinrai nodded and helped her up. He took a hold of her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers, causing a small blush to spring up. The two lovebirds headed off to the village, looking for something to eat. Many different smells wafted in her nose, and one particular one enticed Araile to the point where she dragged Shinrai across the street to the ramen food shop. Her tail twitched as she watched the elderly man and his daughter make delicious looking ramen. There was only one problem: neither Araile or Shinrai had any money to pay for the food.

The elderly man noticed the 14 year old and waved with a smile.

"Ah, Araile! I haven't seen you in a while my dear! How have you been? And who is this handsome young man with you?" he asked as she walked into the small restaurant.

"Hello Mister Teuchi! I've been better, taking care of Kakashi and stuff. This is Shinrai, he's my friend...er...well...we're together now" she giggled with a blush, Shinrai blushing madly beside her.

Teuchi didn't miss this though and gave a sly smile.

"Your 'friend' eh? Well, what can I cook for you and your 'friend'?" he asked.

"We don't have any money" Araile said, looking down in sadness.

"Nonsense! This will be on the house!" Teuchi proclaimed with a smile.

Both her and Shinrai looked at the ramen chef in disbelief.

"T-thank you sir!" Shinrai said, bowing his head.

Teuchi waved his hand towards the couple.

"Don't worry about it, son. Araile is a very dear and special girl, and we love having her here" he said with a smile, and got to work making the wonderful smelling-and tasting-ramen.

"Hey, Mister Teuchi? Is Ayame working today?" Araile asked as she sat on one of the many stools, Shinrai following.

"Of course! She is out grabbing some ingredients and should be back soon" the man said as he continued to cook.

Shinrai shot her a confused look.

"Ayame is his daughter. She used to come over and play with me when I was little when Kakashi went on missions" she explained with a smile, and Shinrai nodded his understanding.

"Oh my! Araile, is that you?! Oh my gosh you've grown so much I missed you!" a voice cried from behind the two teens.

The feline teenager turned around and was suddenly enveloped in a hug, and a giggle came from her.

"Ayame! Hi! I missed you too!" Araile squeaked as Ayame continued hugging her.


	18. Chapter 18

**Now that I am finished school for the summer, I will be uploading more. I apologize for the disappearance; school became my first priority and I wanted to concentrate on finishing before putting all my energy into writing. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. As usual, I don't own Naruto.**

To Shinrai, this was his first experience of the 'valuable girl time': both Araile and Ayame were talking so fast and giggling that Shinrai couldn't understand a word, let alone get one word in. The poor boy looked at Teuchi with a shocked expression, and the elderly man just smiled and shook his head.

Apparently this is what all women did.

Back in the Land of Mortality, Araile had barely spoken any words to anyone. As the years went on, she began to open up little by little. Shinrai was eager to talk to someone besides Kazoku or even Seishin. He didn't talk to Meiyo a lot; she was too bubbly and hyper to take anything seriously. Taiyo always berated the poor boy, so he stayed far away from the hormonal teen.

Shinrai sighed and brushed a few strands of purple hair behind his ear. He still couldn't believe his luck in finding his friend. When the small group returned from Konoha to the Land of Mortality, Shinrai silently fell into a pit of depression and vowed to find Araile again. The world was a bit duller without her presence.

The only one to notice the boy's distress was Kazoku. The kind woman knew he missed Araile terribly, and decided then to send the distraught boy back to Konoha. She worked on the portal for months behind everyone's backs until it was ready for Shinrai. Beckoning Shinrai to follow her one day, Kazoku led the boy-now three and a half years older-to a small and isolated clearing in the forest. She had said to go back and find his ''ray of sunshine'', smiled and pushed the confused boy through.

Shinrai couldn't thank the woman enough as she had helped him to find Araile. If it wasn't for Kazoku he would still be in the Land of Mortality, never knowing how Araile was, if she even survived the preliminaries and living with constant heartbreak.

He would forever be indebted to Kazoku.

Shaking his head, Shinrai smiled to himself as he watched how happy his love interest was while talking with Ayame. He loved how animated Araile got when talking about anything, how her ears always pinned back against her head as she laughed, or how her tail twitched when she got annoyed when Ayame prodded at a certain part of their conversation.

"-rai? Shinrai! Hey!" a voice broke through the boys train of thought.

"Huh? Oh sorry, I was thinking too hard" Shinrai said, a line of heat racing across his nose.

"Anyways, we have to go. Bye Ayame! Mister Teuchi!" Araile said as she pulled Shinrai away from the two older people.

"Whew! That was nice catching up with Ayame" she chirped as she let go of Shinrai's wrist, much to the boys disappointment.

"How long have you known them?" Shinrai asked as the duo walked through the busy street.

"Since I was small" she said as she stopped to look at a stand filled with different fabrics, hats and scarves.

"Look! This bandana is so cute!" she exclaimed to Shinrai.

The bandana was a triangular piece of fabric that was dyed a deep purple. White thread stitched intricate patterns that were a stark contrast to the deep background. Reaching into her pocket for the required amount of money, Araile handed the change to the seller and walked away, Shinrai trailing behind. Tying it across her head, she smiled as it fit just right, as if it was made for her. It covered her ears so that the villagers that didn't know her would not be able to tell she had the feline ears.

"Why did you buy it?" Shinrai asked as he watched Araile put it on.

"Well..when I was little, people used to always stare at my ears. Kakashi said not to worry about it, but I hated it. Even though I'm older and it's been some time since I was in the village, people still stare" Araile said, eyes downcast.

Shinrai kept silent, waiting for her to finish.

"I feel like I'm still treated differently then everyone else. I'm 14, and yet still some people treat me like a weird alien and not Araile...but with this bandana on people won't notice my ears!" Araile said with a small smile on her face.

"I like your ears the way they are" Shinrai said, causing her to look away with a faint blush.


	19. Chapter 19

**Here is chapter 19 of Growing Pains. I hope everyone enjoys!**

As Araile brought her hand to push her hair back, Shinrai took her hand in his, causing another small blush to appear on her face.

"Please don't put the bandana on. Your ears make you who you are" Shinrai said, a large smile lighting up his eyes.

She blinked and looked down, her gold eyes hidden by her bangs. He liked her the way she was? Everyone else had always stared. Kakashi always told her to not listen to everyone, but Araile heard whispers from the villagers. Thanks to her feline ears, she heard lots of things. Sometimes it was regarding who her parents were, and other times it was snickering at her feline features.

A cold fist clenched itself around her throat. Araile gritted her teeth as a hot sensation prickled behind her eyes, the hot tears threatened to spill over. Shinrai didn't understand it. He didn't have ears that she did. In a shaky hand, she untied the cloth and clenched the bandana in her fist, before suddenly throwing it on the ground.

"You don't understand" Araile said in a shaky voice, and before Shinrai could do anything she spun around and sprinted away, leaving the bandana and Shinrai behind.

Tears blurred her vision as you continued to run through the village. Shinrai didn't understand the hurt she had gone through when she was a child. Especially when it came from the village children. They had always picked on her because of her ears and tail. All because she was different from them. Every time Kakashi confronted the young girl about it, she always put on a brave face and smiled, saying that it was nothing; but every jab the children made chipped away at her young heart and confidence.

As Araile grew up, she became more withdrawn and always preferred to stay in the apartment she shared with Kakashi. She never wanted to sign up for the academy, and Kakashi never forced her. Sure he took her out around the village sometimes, but she never went out with friends of her own.

As Araile continued to run, the tears finally released themselves, and cascaded down her face. Her legs screamed at her to stop after awhile and she complied, slowing to a panting stop. Wiping her tears away, she blinked in surprise when she realized that she was on top of the Hokage Mountain. The wind blew gently and playfully tugged at the strands of her hair.

Araile sat down and rested her chin on her knees as she pulled them in. The sun began to set, casting parts of Konoha in a warm orange glow. She buried her face into the hollow created by her arms and knees as her shoulders shook from the sobs that wracked her body. Memories of when she was small and under the care of Kakashi began to rise in her mind.

Memories of the village children always teasing her, never playing with her, hitting her and pushing her over onto the ground.

Araile never wanted these ears to begin with, so why were they always making fun of her? Kakashi said numerous times to ignore them and that her appearance was just fine, but in Araile's young mind she was confused, lonely and desperate to fit in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Araile!" Shinrai shouted over and over again as he walked through the village.

He didn't know where she ran off too, and he wasn't familiar with this village. Sighing, the poor boy sat on a bench and put his chin on his hand, heart heavy.

Why did she react like that? Was it something he said?

"Are you looking for Araile?" a manly and deep voice said in front of Shinrai, causing the young boy to look up in surprise.

A man dressed in all green stood in front of him. Shinrai blinked in surprise; this man had the biggest eyebrows he had ever seen!

"Yes, have you seen where she went?" Shinrai asked, hopeful.

"Ah, the youthful young flower is up on the Hokage mountain. She seemed to be upset and crying youthful maidenly tears" the green man said dramatically, causing Shinrai to blink in confusion.

Was this man on something?

"Why was the youthful young flower that my eternal rival Kakashi has raised since a babe crying? Does she need a knight? I will be her knight in shining armour! I! Maito Gai!" the man continued, oblivious to Shinrai sitting there.

"I don't know. I said I liked her ears the way they were" Shinrai said, blinking when he noticed Gai suddenly change his attitude when he heard Shinrai.

"I see. That makes sense now" Gai said in a sudden serious tone, heaving a heavy sigh.

"What? Why?" Shinrai asked, standing up.

"She has had problems with her appearance since Kakashi has taken care of her" Gai stated, sitting down on the bench, Shinrai following.

"The poor girl has been teased all her young life from the village children about her appearance" Gai continued, looking solemnly at his hands.

In his mind's eye, Gai pictured the young girl that Kakashi took care of. Gai would find the small child crying by the playground sometimes after she tried to play with the village children. They always made fun of her appearance, and it hurt Araile emotionally. Sometimes they even threw punches or kicks at the child just for the fun of it.

Kakashi tried his best to lift her spirits, but could only do so much. Gai helped sometimes as well by giving the child candy, and always made her laugh with his tirades of 'youth' and 'maidenly smiles'. It only lasted a short amount of time before the sadness and loneliness returned.

Apparently, she still had some hurt feelings over her appearance. Sighing, Gai heaved himself up off the bench and turned towards Shinrai.

"Go! Go and find your maiden!" he said with a thumbs up and shiny smile before walking away.

Shinrai blinked, not quite sure what he had witnessed. Lowering his head, Shinrai processed what Gai had told him. Araile was bullied because of her ears and tail? He didn't know that, and he told her to leave them the way they were.

What an idiot he was!

Gritting his teeth, Shinrai jumped up from the bench and ran towards the Hokage Mountain. He would find her, and make everything better.


	20. Chapter 20

**My apologies, this is a shorter chapter then usual. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter and as usual I don't own Naruto. **

Araile shifted as a breeze blew, lifting tendrils of her hair and making them dance in the air. She shifted, bringing her knees in closer against her chest. A small part of her was yelling at her, cursing her for leaving Shinrai alone and rushing off like a child. Snorting, she stood up, brushing off dirt from her pants and straightening her shirt. She was indeed acting like a child. She gazed up at the sky as it became dyed with a rich red, and slowly made her way from her spot.

Night was approaching, and she was worried Shinrai wouldn't know the way back by himself. She blinked as she gazed around the village streets, trying to spot her love's purple hair. Could she consider them lovers? They both liked each other...so why was she so hesitant to label both as lovers?

"_Shinrai is definitely more than a friend that's for sure_" Araile thought to herself.

A small smile graced her features at this thought as she continued walking along the lit streets. She bit her lower lip as she searched for Shinrai, and a small pit of worry began to grow in her stomach. Where was he?

"Araile?" a voice broke through her thoughts.

She quickly looked up, and a large smile spread across her lips as she laid eyes on Shinrai standing a couple feet away. Araile walked over and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders. She felt Shinrai stiffen in surprise, but relaxed and wrapped his arms around her back.

"I'm sorry for running away like that" Araile murmured against his shirt, and Shinrai tightened his hold briefly before releasing her.

Shaking his head, he took her hands from his neck in his, the warmth of his hands beginning to warm hers.

"I'm sorry too. I should have been more thoughtful" Shinrai said, eyes lowered sadly.

Araile gave him a gentle smile and weaved her fingers with his. Tail twitching, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, giggling when a pink colour began to race across his face.

"Come on, let's go back. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired" she said, tugging Shinrai with her as she began to walk.

The two walked hand in hand through the streets of Konoha until they finally arrived at the apartment. Night had fallen by that time, and as Araile opened the front door Shinrai hesitated. Blinking in confusion, Araile tugged at his hand.

"Come on, you can take Kakashi's room. He's still recovering in the hospital" she said.

Shinrai nodded with a small "_oh_" and followed her inside.

"It's down the hallway" she said before disappearing into her own bedroom, the door closing with a soft '_click_'.

Shinrai stood in the front for a minute, taking in his surroundings on a more detailed level. The times he had been here he had either been too tired or too wounded to notice. It wasn't very ornate or fancy, just a plain apartment with all the necessities.

He began walking towards Kakashi's bedroom, but stopped outside Araile's door. He bit his lip, wondering if he should go in or not. Nodding to himself, Shinrai quietly opened her bedroom door. His green eyes blinked when he noticed Araile lying in her bed in a deep slumber with the light on. She must have forgotten to turn it off.

Suppressing a snort, he flicked the light off and quietly padded to her bed. The moon shone through her window, cloaking her body in silver. Shinrai sat on the floor with crossed legs and leaned his back against the mattress. It didn't feel right sleeping next to Araile at the moment.

Those other times were by pure coincidence.

Shinrai let out a light sigh and folded his arms across his chest, getting comfortable. He leaned his head back against the mattress, and his ears picked up the faint sound of Araile's breathing. It soothed him into a deep sleep as the moon continued to shine in the sky.

A noise woke Araile from her slumber. Blinking sleepily, she raised her head from her pillow and looked around her bedroom. It must have been the apartment creaking.

A figure blocked her view from the rest of her bedroom, and she rubbed an eye before looking at the figure beside her. Araile smiled gently when Shinrai snoozed beside her, his arm cushioning his head.

Sometime during the night, he must have gotten up and laid beside her in his sleep. Talk about sleep walking. She suppressed a giggle before lying her head back down on her pillow. She gently stretched out her hand and caressed the side of his face. He mumbled something incoherently before letting out a soft snore. She let out a small giggle this time before retracting her hand and snuggling into her pillow, her body once again entering Dream Land.


	21. Chapter 21

The sun was high in the sky by the time the two teens exited the apartment. Birds chirped, flying back and forth between the electrical wires. The sky was a pale blue as white clouds drifted lazily across it.

Araile bit the inside of her lip as she held Shinrai's hand. Something in her gut was telling her that something bad was going to happen. But what was it? Shrugging off the feeling, she continued walking with Shinrai down the street. A warm wind blew, making strands of her hair dance around.

"What do you want to do?" Shinrai asked brightly, looking at her.

Before Araile could answer, her feline ears picked up a series of screams from the edge of the village. Her ears swivelled back and forth and she slowed to a stop, bringing Shinrai as well to a stop.

"What's that?" Araile murmured as more screaming sounded.

"What? I don't hear anything" Shinrai said, looking around.

Araile shushed the teen and walked slowly to where the sounds were coming from. The ground began to rumble, and smoke suddenly rose from the sky. An explosion sounded soon after, the blast wave sending the teens stumbling to their knees. Coughing, Shinrai stood back up.

"Are you okay?" he asked, helping Araile up.

"Yeah. What was that?" she coughed.

Before Shinrai could answer, a figure appeared in front of them dressed in black and red. Its sinister-looking purple eyes stared at the two, sending shivers down Araile's spine. It raised its hand, and spikes shot out of the ground. Araile and Shinrai both leapt out of the way, but Araile was too slow. She was caught in the side by a metal rod, and a yelp sounded from her throat. She flew back before smashing to the ground, rolling a couple times before coming to a stop.

"Araile!" Shinrai shouted as he came to a stop.

"I'm okay" she grounded out, pushing herself to her feet.

The figure made no noise as it stared at them. Shinrai growled and lunged at the figure, fist raised. The figure dodged the fist, and Shinrai came back with even more. Fist after fist was dodged, and Araile blinked, their movements too fast for her eyes to follow. A grunt sounded as Shinrai flew back and hit the ground. The black and red-clad figure lunged at Araile, and she braced herself. It came with a hand poised and before she knew it, metal poles wrapped around her arms and legs, effectively trapping her. She squirmed back and forth but to no avail. The figure landed in front of her, and she hissed at it, teeth bared.

"Let me go! Who are you?!" she snarled, squirming to try and get free.

The figure stayed silent and stared at her with its purple eyes. Araile squeezed her eyes shut and bit back a cry as the poles around her limbs tightened. She had to get out of this or the poles would break her bones!

"Hello, my dear" a voice suddenly said in front of her.

Araile's eyes snapped open as she gazed at the figure standing beside her captor. A growl sounded from her chest.

"Ishimaru" she spat, gold eyes glaring at the man.

"Oh how nice, you remembered me" the demon laughed as he walked towards the struggling girl.

"I see you've met my new friends" he said as he gestured to the other male figure.

"Why are you here?" Araile gritted out as the poles tightened even more.

"To destroy Konoha of course, and to destroy you, but I'll leave that to someone else" Ishimaru said as a sadistic smirk crossed his face.

A groan sounded from behind her, and Araile twisted her head around to see Shinrai struggling to get up. Her gut clenched as she took notice of his wounds. He suddenly threw a kunai towards the black and red man, and the man blinked and moved out of the way. The metal poles attached to Araile slipped away, and she slumped to the ground.

"We will see you soon, my dear" Ishimaru cackled as he and the black and red clad man disappeared.

"Araile? Are you okay?!" Shinrai said as he slowly walked over.

Araile nodded, rubbing her wrist. It was bruised, but thankfully not broken. Another explosion sounded from beside them, and her delicate ears caught the sounds of people screaming.

"What's happening?" Araile whispered as she clutched Shinrai's shirt.

The sound of shrieking birds suddenly assaulted her ears, and her gold eyes snapped towards the direction. Her heart began to pound painfully in her chest as she let go of Shinrai's shirt.

"That's Kakashi! He's in trouble!" Araile shouted as she began to run towards the sound.

'Please be okay!' she thought desperately as she continued running through the ruined streets.

She came to a screeching stop just as she caught sight of her old caretaker's grey hair. He was fighting the red and black clad man too, but this one was different. The black-and-red man made a hand sign, and with one hand shot her old caretaker back. Araile slapped her hands to her mouth as a scream ripped out of her. She picked her way across the rubble, and hurried to her old caretaker's side. She fell to her knees beside him and clutched at his vest, fingers gripping the material.

"Kakashi! Get up! Come on!" she shouted as she continued to grip the vest.

No answer.

"Kakashi! Come on!" she cried out, this time shaking the Jonin.

No answer. Tears began to well in her eyes as she looked at the Jonin lying there motionless. She bit her lip as the tears began to slide down her cheeks. Releasing a cry, she hung her head down and wailed, shoulders shaking.

A small nudge in her mind caused her to flinch. No...she didn't want to become a full demon. Another nudge came, this time stronger. She bit her lip as her canines throbbed. Her breathe hitched as her back muscles began to twitch. No. She wouldn't become that.

Tears continued dripping down her face as she clutched her old caretaker's vest. His body was getting cold. Araile sniffled and shook her head. NO! Don't think like that. Her shoulders continued to shake as sobs wracked her body.

"Hello, Araile. You've grown up" a cool voice said behind her.

Araile snapped her head up. That voice...she knew that voice. She turned around, gold eyes wide.

"You" she breathed.


	22. Chapter 22

**I hope you all enjoy this next chapter! I don't own Naruto. Enjoy!**

Araile sat on the ground, eyes wide in shock. Her heart stopped for a second as she saw the man who had taken care of her for 2 years. A man who in her eyes was like a father figure, and had taught her to fight.

"Seishin? What are you doing here?" Araile asked slowly, letting go of Kakashi's vest.

She stood up, confusion showing on her face. Her legs trembled as she gazed as Seishin. The man wore armour on his shoulders and a piece of armour across his chest. His eyes, once kind and sparkling, were hard and cold. He grinned maliciously as Araile continued to gaze at him in confusion.

"I don't understand..." she murmured.

"It's simple, my lovely Araile. I brought you to me so you could be part of my little demon army" he said as he calmly walked towards her.

"B-but what about Kazoku? And Meiyo and Taiyo!" Araile cried out.

Her head was beginning to throb as Seishin threw back his head and laughed.

"You stupid girl! Kazoku was in it with me the entire time! Taiyo and Meiyo are part of my army" he said with a crazy gleam in his eyes.

Araile's heart stopped. It seemed like time had also decided to stop. Her pupils shrank to pinpricks. Everything...was a lie? Seishin brought her to the Land of Mortality just of be part of a mindless demon army?

_No._

Her heartbeat thudded in her ears. Her chest heaved as her lungs tried to work to bring in the needed oxygen.

_No._

Her muscles began to tremble. It was all a lie. Their kindness...was a lie.

_NO!_

The demonic energy that had been gently nudging her mind suddenly bombarded her with full force, taking full control. Her nails elongated as a deep growl rumbled from her chest. Her canines grew to sharp points, and Araile threw her head back, letting out a loud roar.

Seishin regarded the 14 year-old with calm interest. So, this was her demonic power. Before he could blink, Araile lunged towards him. Her eyes glowed a deep purple as she slashed at Seishin with sharpened claws. He jumped to the side, and Araile snarled as her eyes followed his movements. She was quicker than he expected. Well, now he was ready for her.

She let out another roar and slashed at Seishin again and again. He grabbed her wrist, and flung her into the trees. She hit the trees in a cloud of dirt and splintering branches. Sighing, Seishin brushed his armour off.

A snarl caught his attention. So, the demon was still going. He smirked, and took out a katana. The blade glittered dangerously in the sunlight as the demon girl rushed at him. Seishin calmly aimed the sword at the charging demon. He slashed his katana down, earning a hiss as the blade cut into the girls skin. Blood splattered from the slash, but she kept charging at him.

Slash after slash, and yet Araile still kept charging. Seishin smirked; she was starting to slow down. Then he would make his ultimate move. Araile had shown that she could no longer be a part of his demon army, so he had to exterminate her.

Letting out another roar, Araile charged at Seishin again. Her mind was overcome with the need to maim and to kill this man in front of her no matter what. She didn't feel the numerous slashes across her body. She wanted to kill the human. She wanted to rip his throat out with her nails.

A cold feeling washed over her suddenly. Hissing, she looked down to see Seishin's blade entered through her stomach. Blood poured from the wound and dripped down in a steady stream. Seishin grinned and retracted his katana. Araile stumbled back, hissing at him as blood poured from her. Ragged pants filled the air as Araile weakened from blood loss. Her muscles trembled and burned as she fell to her knees.

She let out another roar, but it was cut off when Seishin gripped her by her throat. He easily lifted her up, and cackled with glee when she struggled against his grip. Growling, Araile kicked her feet out.

"Araile!" a voice cried out.

Seishin turned his head slightly in slight amusement.

"Well, look who it is. Shinrai, my boy! It's been a long time" Seishin cackled, clenching Araile by her throat tighter.

A choked sound came from the girl struggling against his grip. Glancing at Araile, Seishin's eyebrows rose as he watched the purple colour bleed out from her eyes. Her canines returned to normal length, and her nails returned to normal.

"Well well. It seems like you repressed your demon side" Seishin mused.

"Seishin? What are you doing?" Shinrai said as he watched the scene with confusion.

There was blood everywhere. What was going on? Seishin carelessly threw Araile to the side, and Shinrai's eyes widened when her body bounced once on the ground before she came to a skidding stop on her back.

"A change of plans, Shinrai. You will understand it. I will see you at a later time. You and Araile...well maybe not Araile. Her time is quite limited" Seishin grinned before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Shinrai blinked, confusion briefly holding him still. Shaking his head, Shinrai ran over to where Araile was lying. He knelt down and gently lifted her upper body up, cradling her against his chest. She had gashes everywhere, and a large stab wound on her stomach bled profusely. He gently brushed a strand of stray hair away from her face with a shaking hand.

"Araile? What happened? Please, say something!" he pleaded, fear coursing through his veins.

He searched desperately for a pulse, and with a sigh of relief found one. It was there, but it was weak and fluttery. A groan came from her lips as he smoothed her hair back. He didn't know what Seishin did to her, but Araile was hurt badly. Shinrai gritted his teeth as rage surged beneath him. He would never forgive Seishin for what he did to Araile.

He placed a gentle hand on her stab wound. The katana had stabbed Araile deep in her stomach, and Shinrai didn't know how much longer she had. He gripped her to his chest, not caring if her blood was soaking into his clothes. He gently lifted her legs with his other arm and held her closely. Standing up, he swiftly turned around and began running to the Konoha hospital. He had to get Araile to the medical nin and quickly.

He wasn't going to let his love die.


	23. Chapter 23

**I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter!**

"Please! Someone help us" Shinrai shouted as he rushed through the hospital doors.

He had barely managed to run through the destroyed village without losing consciousness. He had sustained injuries himself, and his blood began to ooze down the many gashes. His heartbeat pounded in his ears as he desperately looked around. He had to find help for Araile first.

Some nurses rushed forward and took Araile from him. Shinrai's eyes followed the 14 year-old as she hung limply from the nurse's arms. He barely acknowledged that one nurse was talking to him. The world began to sway back and forth in his eyes, and Shinrai closed his eyes. His gashes really were starting to hurt.

A hand on his shoulder steered Shinrai to a hospital room, and he gladly sat down on the bed. The nurse began taking his vitals and brought a tray over. Shinrai let his head hang down as the nurse gently began cleaning his wounds. There was no medical-nin available at the moment, so the nurse would have to do.

Shinrai didn't flinch as the nurse continued cleaning. His mind kept coming back to Araile. She was hurt pretty badly, and he didn't know how she was. Did she even survive the trip to the hospital?

He shook his head; no, she would survive. She was strong. The nurse finished cleaning his wounds and bound them before giving him a hospital gown. He looked up at the nurse with a confused gaze.

"I want you to stay overnight so we can watch you" she said before walking out.

Shinrai sighed and got changed into the gown. He didn't understand why Seishin attacked Araile. That wasn't the Seishin he knew and trained with. What did he mean by '_demon army_'? He didn't understand any of it! Shinrai sighed heavily, but stopped when the action made his ribs ache. He leaned his sore body against the pillows on the hospital bed, shifting until he found a comfortable position. He needed to know how Araile was.

"Excuse me?"

"Hm?" the nurse said as she looked up at the young teen on the bed.

"Can you please tell me about Araile? Is she okay? Please tell me!" Shinrai said as he leaned forward in the hospital bed.

The nurse smiled gently at him before putting her clipboard down.

"She is doing much better now" she said and moved to check the heart monitor.

"Now? What do you mean?" Shinrai said, eyes widening in sudden fear.

"Don't fret yourself. She lost a lot of blood, but we managed to stabilize her. Kakashi is with her now and keeping her company" the nurse said gently.

Shinrai breathed a sigh of relief, causing the nurse to give a small laugh. Last time he saw Araile's old caregiver he seemed to be gravelly injured. Apparently he was not as heavily injured then he thought. The nurse gave the machines one last check before exiting his hospital room. Shinrai sighed and looked out the hospital window, bored out of his mind.

An idea suddenly came to him, and Shinrai forced his body out of the hospital bed. He unhooked the I.V from his wrist and stood up gently.

Thankfully nothing was swaying and he walked swiftly out of the hospital room. He stood to the side of the hospital hallway as a team of medical-nin rushed a ninja through on a gurney. He felt a pang in his heart as he watched the group disappear around the corner. So many injuries and death from these red and black weird men. Looking around, Shinrai began walking in a direction where he hoped Araile was. He wanted to be with her, Kakashi or not.

Screams echoed here and there from the hospital rooms as Shinrai continued walking, causing the boy to wince each time. He silently sent a prayer to the heavens that the people those screams belonged to would have a full recovery.

He peaked around an open door, and his eyes widened. His Araile was sitting up and looking like a mummy; her entire torso was covered in bandages. Kakashi looked a little worse for wear himself, and had bandages wrapped around his shoulder and arms.

"Shinrai!" Araile said happily as he walked into the room.

"I'm glad you're okay" she said as the teen walked to the edge of her bed.

"I'm fine. I was worried about you. Are you okay?" Shinrai said, eyes roaming over her face and bandages.

Araile puffed out her cheeks in irritation.

"I'm okay now" she said, ears flattening.

First she had the nurses and Kakashi worrying over her, and now Shinrai? Jeez, she was still alive wasn't she?

Araile glanced down at her hands as they clutched at the hospital blanket. Ever since she had regained consciousness, a thought kept persistently bouncing around in her head. She had to go to Seishin and Kazoku. It didn't make any sense to her: why would they just take children like her and turn them into a mindless army? And what about Meiyo and Taiyo? Meiyo had been her best friend for 2 years...she couldn't just leave them behind. Araile closed her eyes with a small sigh, once and for all making up her mind.

She would go and confront Seishin and Kazoku, and she would free Meiyo and Taiyo.

"I know what you're thinking" her old caregiver said from beside her.

Araile opened her eyes to gaze at Kakashi's single black one.

"I have to, Kakashi! If not, who is going to stop them? They could come to Konoha again...and I don't want to see anyone get hurt again" Araile said, gold eyes wide and pleading.

"Please, Kakashi. I have to do this...I'm not a child anymore" she continued, looking down at her hands again.

Kakashi sighed as he considered this. It was true she wasn't a child anymore.

"I'll go with you" Shinrai said suddenly, and Araile shot him a small smile.

She turned her gaze toward the Jonin again, eyes searching his masked face. He looked down for a moment before lifting his single gaze to hers. His gaze softened, and a large smile spread over Araile's face.

"I will pack you some things" was all Kakashi said before getting up and walking out of the room.

Shinrai watched his disappearing back for a moment before coming to sit beside Araile.

"We'll do this together" he said quietly.


	24. Chapter 24

**This chapter is a bit shorter then the others unfortunately. This story is coming up to the end, and I am thrilled to see that some people still followed and favorited this story. I hope everyone has enjoyed this fanfiction, and will continue to enjoy as we come to an end. As usual, I don't own Naruto. I wish I did, but I don't sadly.**

Heaving a sigh, Araile brushed a hand through her white and black locks. She had healed enough so she could be discharged from the hospital, and she was glad.

It seemed like she had spent a large amount of time at the Konoha hospital. Her tail twitched in annoyance as she waited at the front door of the hospital. Shinrai was supposed to meet her here before setting off, and he was late.

Hopefully Shinrai wasn't taking after Kakashi too much...

"Araile! Sorry I'm late" said-person shouted as he ran up to her.

Araile gave him a small smile and slung her bag over her shoulder. They already had clearance from the Hokage, and Araile didn't want to wait any longer before setting off. She bit her lip as they started walking towards the gates. The two walked in silence for some time, and Araile's mind began to wander. Were they really just being used by Seishin and Kazoku? What about Meiyo and Taiyo? Was she too late to save them?

Sighing, Araile looked up to the clear blue sky. A bird flew by, and a small spark of determination ignited in her heart. She would save Meiyo and Taiyo, and figure out what was going on. If need be, Araile would also defeat Seishin and Kazoku.

A thought suddenly occurred to her and she looked at Shinrai.

"Hey Shinrai...do you know where they would be?" she asked.

He nodded solemnly, glancing up at her as they passed under the gates.

"Somewhat. I remember passing through a wall which was in a large cove of trees. It was in a weird shape" he said as his eyes held a look of concentration.

"I think it's in this direction" he said, and pointed down the road, and Araile nodded.

"Let's go" she murmured before shifting her bag in a more comfortable position.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
A knock on the door echoed through the small apartment. Sighing, the grey haired Jonin looked up from his book. Why would someone want him now? And just when the book was getting good.

He hoisted himself up and ambled to the door and opened it. His single eye opened in surprise when he saw Kane standing there, looking a little worse for wear. His black hair clung to his face as he panted for air.

"Where is my sister?!" Kane demanded, gold eyes darting around.

"She's not here. She left with Shinrai, why?" Kakashi said, single eye narrowed.

"Where! Please tell me!" Kane all but demanded.

Kakashi was about to make a sarcastic remark, but something stopped him. Kane had a look of pure panic on his face as his eyes continued darting around. His gold eyes were filled with fear as he unconsciously clenched his hand in a fist.

"What's going on?" the Jonin asked, eye narrowing.

"They are headed towards a trap. The two my sister are going after; they know she is coming. They will try and kill her" the young man said.

His face may have been expressionless, but Kakashi could see that Kane was clearly distraught. The Jonin nodded and walked out of his apartment, thinking quickly. He locked the door and quickly bit his thumb, slamming it on the floor. Symbols appeared and a large plume of smoke appeared. Barks sounded as the smoke cleared, and his nin-dogs stood there.

"Hey boss, whatcha want?" Pakkun, the pug, said.

"Araile and her friend are in danger. I need you all to track them down and stay with them until we get there" Kakashi said, and a chorus of growls and snarls sounded from the group of nin-dogs.

The small pug's eyes widened as he took in the information. His master's old charge was a favourite of the pug's: she had never pulled on his ears or his cheeks like all the other children did. The girl held a spot in the pug's heart and he would do anything for her...not that Pakkun would relay that information publicly.

The dogs gazed at Kakashi before disappearing in another plume of smoke. They would find her scent and follow it. They knew Araile's scent very well and Kakashi was 100% positive they would find the young girl and protect her. They always looked after her even when she was small. Even Pakkun had softened up to his master's young charge, and would often let the small child snuggle close to him if she was having bad dreams. Yes, they would find Araile. Her and Shinrai.

"Let's go" he said to Kane, and rushed to the Hokage's building to get clearance.

He stole a glance at Kane, and saw that the young man's face was troubled. He was hard on his sister, but still loved her. Kakashi just hoped they weren't too late.


	25. Chapter 25

As the day turned into night, the two teens continued their trek. Araile's tail twitched as her stomach fluttered in nervousness. What would they do when they went against Seishin and Kazoku? Shaking her head, Araile brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face.

"Let's stop for the night" she said, and Shinrai nodded.

The two picked a spot where a large tree had overturned; its branches creating a shelter for them. As Shinrai gathered branches for a small fire, Araile spread out her sleeping roll, along with Shinrai's. They would find a way to get their friends back.

A rustle and a muffled sound caught her attention. Her head snapped up, ears pricked to listen for any sounds of an intruder.

"Shinrai?" she called out hesitantly.

A cold pit formed in Araile's stomach when she didn't hear him answer. Ears twitching, she got up and started walking towards the direction she thought Shinrai was last night. Her ears swivelled back and forth as she peered in the dark foliage. A bush rustled, and Araile snapped her gaze towards it, gold eyes narrowing.

A 'thud' echoed in her ears as a blinding pain raced through her skull. Her eyes rolled back and she dropped to her knees, and then to the ground. Two figures appeared in front of the unconscious girl, and one of the figures reached down to pick the unconscious feline up. It slung her like a sack of rice over its shoulder and disappeared with the other figure, which also had an unconscious Shinrai over its shoulder. The two jumped away into the trees, their targets acquired.

A couple minutes later, barking echoed through the trees as Kakashi's nin-dogs appeared. Pakkun gazed around the empty campsite as his pack searched through the empty bags and sleeping rolls. Her scent lead them to here, but Araile was nowhere to be found. It made no sense to the little pug. Bull suddenly barked once, alerting the rest of the pack.

The rest of the nin-hounds surrounded Bull, who had found a kunai pack discarded on the ground. The large mastiff growled low as he sniffed at the pouch. Araile's scent was all over it, but it was also mixed with something else. Blood dotted the area around the kunai pouch, and it mingled with the stink of fear and demon.

The hounds looked up as their grey haired master and his friend appeared. They stood in the centre, looking around as Bull picked up the kunai pouch in his massive jaws. Even though his jaws could easily crush bone, Bull handled the pouch with care. He padded over to Kakashi and dropped the pouch into Kakashi's open palm. His visible eye narrowed as he gazed at the pouch. This was Araile's, he was positive about that.

"Bull found it over here" Pakkun stated as he sat down, his little pug face in a deep frown.

Kane closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. The next statement had his eyes snap open.

"There's blood over here too" the pug said.

Kane rushed over to the small pug and sure enough, there it was: a dark red contrasting with the lush green. His gold eyes narrowed as he took in the sight. What happened here?

A large bark sounded and both men turned to see Bull at the edge of the camp. Kane looked at Kakashi who looked calm but determined.

"Bull found her scent" the Jonin said, and Kane nodded.

The hounds bounded forward, following their pack mate as the large mastiff took off through the trees. Their howls echoed throughout the dark forest as the nin-dogs took off following the scent trail. The two men followed, their minds on what had happened to the 14 year-old and her companion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Groaning, Araile opened her eyes slowly. Drips sounded from all around her, causing her ears to twitch constantly. Her head pounded, and she shut her eyes against the pain. It felt like someone was bashing her skull with the edge of a kunai over and over again.

Groaning again, Araile opened her eyes and groggily looked around. Where was she? It looked like she was thrown into a cell, with her arms shackled to the wall behind her. The only source of light was from underneath the cell door. The metal cuffs cut into her wrists as she tugged on the chains. The cell was cold and damp, and the chill bit into the girl's skin, causing her to shiver.

Where was Shinrai? Was he okay?

A sound echoed from outside the cell, and Araile's eyes snapped towards the door. It sounded like someone was opening the cell door, and Araile pressed herself against the wall. The door swung open and a figure stood there, the light outlining it in shadows.

A dark laugh sounded, and Araile bit back a growl. Boots thudded into the cell, and a hand reached out towards Araile. She let out a yelp when it grabbed some of her hair and pulled her head sharply back.

"Did you miss me?" a familiar voice hissed in her ear as he released her hair and a boot caught her in the side.

Araile sailed back against the wall as her chains clinked. She spat out a mouthful of blood and glared up at the demon Ishimaru as he stood in front of her, a maniacal smile on his face. He reached down and unlocked her chains, and kicked her in the back; the force slamming her into the hallway.

Before Araile could react, Ishimaru appeared behind her and lifted the edge of his sword. He swung the hilt down and hit her on the back of the head, knocking the girl out immediately. He gave another dark laugh as he looked at the girl's prone form on the ground. He bent down and picked her up with ease, balancing her weight against his hip. He really wanted to slice and dice the brat right now, but Seishin wanted her for whatever reasons. Ishimaru snorted as he walked down the hallway.

He would get his chance, and when he did it would be amazing. The demon continued walking until he came to a door. He opened it and walked into a large chamber, candles flickering here and there. He dropped Araile into the stone ground, smirking when her head smacked against the stone.

"Thank you, Ishimaru. That will be all" Seishin said smoothly from the front of the chamber.

Ishimaru waved nonchalantly and exited out of the chamber, the door slamming echoing throughout the large chamber. Seishin sat in a stone-like chair with his chin propped on his one fist as he gazed at the unconscious girl on the floor. A chain rattled from beside the man, and he blinked, turning his gaze towards the sound.

"Ah, Shinrai you're waking up I see" he said with a smile.

A groan answered the man, and Seishin grinned. Shinrai was shackled to the ground, blood caked on the side of his head. His green eyes opened slowly, and he lifted his head, blinking a couple of times. Once his vision cleared, Shinrai looked around, eyes wide.

"What? What happened?" he said, eyes darting around.

He gasped when his eyes spotted Araile lying lifeless on the ground, blood oozing from the back of her head. He rushed to get to her, but was jerked back by the chains. He looked down in surprise to find himself chained.

"Now, now Shinrai. You'll be with Araile soon" Seishin said gleefully as he watched Shinrai struggle.

"Araile!" Shinrai shouted, hoping to rouse the girl.

"ARAILE!"


	26. Chapter 26

"I wouldn't tire yourself out Shinrai" Seishin said with a smile as he watched the young teen struggle.

Shinrai struggled to break his restraints as he kept his eyes on the unconscious figure on the floor. He pulled with all his might, but the metal wouldn't budge. Seishin continued watching him with a small smile, amusement written clearly on his face. After a couple minutes of struggling the teen slumped to the ground, panting. A giggle caused Shinrai to look up, and his green eyes widened.

"Aw, looks like the lover boy is finished already" Kazoku said as she walked up towards the panting teen.

"Kazoku...? What...?" Shinrai started to say, but was cut off when Kazoku grabbed a hold of his chin, forcing his face up.

"I'm here to rule the world" she grinned.

Kazoku gave a harsh laugh as she dropped Shinrai's chin and walked over to Seishin. She draped herself over Seishin's lap, cooing in his ear. Shinrai sat still, eyes wide in confusion. The woman who showed him so much kindness and helped him find Araile...was just doing it so they could rule the world. His green eyes went to Araile's still-form and he bit his lip. He didn't know if she was alive or not. Shaking his head, Shinrai tugged at his restraints again. Araile was still alive; he just had to get to her.

Seishin snapped his fingers, and two figures suddenly appeared from behind him. Shinrai's eyes widened even more when he noticed the two figures: two tall people with dark blue hair with white streaks.

"Meiyo...Taiyo..." Shinrai whispered.

The two people he thought he would never see were standing behind Seishin and Kazoku. Except their eyes weren't red...they were black. Black and dead. Seishin was controlling them!

"We must eradicate this one on the floor. You know what to do" Seishin said to the two siblings behind him.

They nodded in unison and walked forward. Shinrai tried to lunge forward to stop them, but the chains held him back.

"No! Stop! What are you doing?" he yelled as he continued struggling.

The siblings picked Araile up by her arms and sat her up. They took chains and brought them to her, barely batting an eye as they chained her wrists. Araile's head rolled to the side; her bangs covering half of her face.

Kazoku smiled evilly and got off of Seishin's lap as Shinrai continued struggling. Shinrai's ears caught the slight sound of a small groan coming from the girl in the centre of the room. Her eyes fluttered and opened slowly. Gold orbs blearily looked around as Araile slowly came-to.

"Araile!" Shinrai called as he struggled again.

Her ear twitched slowly as Shinrai continued struggling, the chain rattles echoing throughout the room. She blinked again, and she looked up.

"Shinrai? What...what happened?" she said groggily.

Her head rolled to the side, and her eyes landed on the siblings who were standing off to the side. Her eyes widened as she took in her best friend for 2 years.

"M-Meiyo?" she breathed out, mouth open in shock.

Seishin cackled as he sat up straighter.

"These two are marvellous demons. Too bad this is the last time you see your friend Meiyo" Seishin said.

Araile glared at Seishin as he stood up from his stone chair. He stalked over to Araile, reminding her of a predator playing with its prey. He walked around Araile with a large smile on his face, and stopped in front of her. With a wide and crazed smile he placed a hand on top of her head, gripping her hair. He pulled her hair back along with her head, causing her to grunt in pain.

"Sweet Araile, I'm afraid I will have to eradicate you from the face of this earth" he said softly in her feline ear, causing her eyes to widen.

He stood up and walked towards his stone throne. He sat down as Araile began struggling in her restraints. With a single hand sign, chakra-like ropes burst from Seishin and raced towards Araile. They wrapped around the struggling girl and began to squeeze her. With a snap of his fingers, the ropes sizzled with electricity.

White-hot pain raced through Araile, and a scream burst out from her throat. Shinrai watched with wide-eyed fear as the chakra ropes continued constricting and electrocuting Araile, and he renewed his struggles to break his restraints. Araile's screams echoed in his ears as he continued struggling. If he didn't get out of these cuffs soon, Araile would surely die.

The seconds ticked by and the screams became more desperate and piercing. Shinrai gritted his teeth as he began to get desperate. Blood began to flow from her wounds and puddled on the floor. A gush of blood spurted from her lips, and her gold eyes squeezed shut from the pain. It felt like someone was stabbing Araile with one million shuriken and kunai at the same time. Blood continued pouring from her lips as the torture continued, much to Seishin's pleasure.

"Araile!" Shinrai screamed in desperation.

A loud cackle sounded as Kazoku watched the teen struggling. Araile suddenly began coughing and spluttering, and her breath began to gurgle. Shinrai's eyes snapped to her form as she struggled to breathe. The chakra ropes squeezed around her body again, and Araile let out another cry before slumping forward. Blood ran down her chin from her mouth like a small river, and Seishin sat forward, his eyes intent on her form. He made the single hand sign, and the chakra ropes retracted from her form and the electrical shocks ceased.

"Let's see if we have successfully eradicated the weak link" Seishin mused as he stood up and walked towards Araile's still form.

"Araile! Don't touch her!" Shinrai snarled as he watched Seishin kneel down beside Araile.

Seishin reached towards Araile's neck and pressed his index and middle finger to the side of her neck, checking for a pulse. After a moment of silence, Seishin stood back up and turned towards Kazoku. Shinrai's eyes widened when he saw a large smile across Seishin's face. His heart stopped when he turned his gaze towards Araile's slumped body.

"It's done, my dear Kazoku. Now that the weakest link has been eradicated, we can continue our plans" Seishin said as he walked towards Kazoku.

Shinrai's entire body felt numb as he gazed at the slumped form. Seishin snapped his fingers, and Meiyo and Taiyo walked over to Araile's still form. They took off the restraints, and let the chains fall to the floor with a dull '_clunk_'. Araile's body leaned to the side, and Shinrai watched with wide eyes as her body fell to the side. Her eyes were closed, and her skin began to grow paler and paler.

Shinrai bowed his head and clenched his teeth, tears threatening to come out. His fists clenched tightly as his body shook. If he was there for her...they would still be out together in the air.


	27. Chapter 27

**This chapter will be a little shorter then usual. I hope everyone enjoys! As usual, I don't own Naruto, only my OCs.**

Shinrai's cries kept bouncing off the walls as he slouched to the ground. His throat was raw from the shouting, but he kept shouting. He didn't want to believe that the girl slumped on the ground in front of him was dead. Araile-_his_ Araile-couldn't be dead!

His eyes kept going to her still form. Blood was still flowing from numerous gashes that littered her body, and her colour became paler and paler.

A sound suddenly came from the mouth of the chamber, and Shinrai's head snapped up. His green eyes squinted when he concentrated in the sound. It sounded like...dogs? Why would dogs be here? A howl sounded and echoed throughout the chamber. Shadows began to paint the walls, and a group of dogs came charging through.

"Hey! Get away from her!" Shinrai shouted as he watched the group of dogs surround Araile.

They paid him no mind as they sniffed and whined around the still teen. Shinrai watched with confusion as some of the dogs whimpered as they continued sniffing Araile. It was as if they knew her. Hurried footsteps echoed, and Shinrai's muscles tensed. Was it Seishin and Kazoku coming back? He tugged at his restraints again. He needed to get out of these chains now.

With a final hard pull, he broke the metal cuffs around his wrists. Shinrai stumbled, but regained his footing and rushed to Araile's form. He knelt beside her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Her skin had become cool, and her head lifelessly rolled back. Tears stung the back of his eyes as he pulled Araile close. Blood began to stain his clothes but Shinrai didn't care.

He lifted a shaking hand and caressed the side of her face. He wanted her to open her eyes; those sparkling golden eyes that always looked at him with love and adoration.

Voices echoed, and Shinrai tensed. He looked up with a glare as he pulled Araile in closer to his chest. He would protect Araile with his life. The dogs sat down around him, some looking at him with a strange expression.

"Shinrai? What are you doing here" a voice said in surprise from the entrance.

Shinrai blinked as Araile's old caregiver and her older brother walked through. He dropped in gaze to Araile's face as shame washed through him. He couldn't protect her, and now she was gone forever. He continued gazing at her almost peaceful face as Kakashi walked up to him. Shinrai looked up at the Jonin's face as he clutched Araile tighter. His one eye looked from Shinrai's sorrowful eyes to Araile's closed ones.

"I couldn't save her" Shinrai whispered as he closed his eyes against the flood of tears.

"What happened?" the Jonin asked softly as he placed a hand on the teen's shoulder.

Swallowing, Shinrai opened his eyes. Kakashi gave a soft sigh as he looked at Kane and shook his head. Kane clenched his teeth as he looked down at the ground. Kane growled lowly and stalked up to Shinrai and grabbed the front of his shirt.

He shook the teen back and forth; his eyes blazing in anger and sadness. Shinrai released Araile's shoulders in surprise as Kane started yelling. Kakashi quickly grabbed the girl before her body hit the ground.

"What did you do to my sister?! Why isn't she awake?!" Kane yelled.

Shinrai blinked as Kane kept shouting. The young teen's brain couldn't comprehend why he was being shaken. Couldn't Kane see that something was wrong? It felt like Shinrai's brain was hitting the back of his skull, making his ears ring. Finally Kane released the teen and growled low, gold eyes darting around. Strands of his black hair stuck to his face as he gazed towards his lifeless sister in Kakashi's arms. His eyes softened and he hesitantly walked towards Kakashi.

Kane gently took his sister from her old caregiver and hugged her close to his chest. Shinrai blinked when a few tears slid down Kane's cheeks before splattering onto Araile's face. He turned away from Shinrai and Kakashi and slowly walked out of the chamber. Shinrai began to protest, but Kakashi stopped him. Both men were silent as the footsteps began to get quieter and quieter.

Kakashi said a couple words to the hounds, and with a 'poof' the animals disappeared. Shinrai clenched his fists as tremors began wracking his body. The tears he held back came rushing through, and streamed down his face as he fell to his knees and sobbed his heartbreak and loss.

After a couple minutes, Shinrai felt a hand being placed on his shoulder. He raised his head and hastily rubbed his eyes with his arm.

A noise suddenly caught their attention, and Shinrai's heart stopped. It sounded like an unholy roar, as if something from the depths of hell came crawling out. He heard that roar before, but it came from Araile who he saw be killed. The same roar sounded, and both men started running to the entrance.

Light streamed through the opening, and when they rushed through the entrance the teen and Jonin stopped dead in their tracks. Kane was on the ground and bleeding from a severe head wound in front of two figures. A large amount of chakra swarmed around another figure who was growling fiercely. Shinrai's eyes opened in fear when he saw the growling figure.

"Araile...?"


	28. Chapter 28

**I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!**

Araile's hair flew around wildly as a snarl ripped through her chest. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at the two figures that were standing in front of her brother on the ground. Her slitted pupils were a dull purple, and she threw back her head and released a loud roar. Shinrai tensed as Araile suddenly lept towards the two figures, and Shinrai took a step forward, intending to stop her.

Kakashi quickly placed a hand in front of the teen, and Shinrai glanced up at the Jonin in surprise.

"I wouldn't interfere. We don't know if she's in control or if she's lost control of her demon-side" the Jonin said, a serious glint in his visible eye.

"I saw her like this before" Shinrai murmured as his eyes continued watching Araile slashing wildly at the two figures.

His eyes suddenly widened as he noticed the two figures.

"That's Kazoku and Seishin! They will kill her! Please we have to do something!" he said to Kakashi.

The Jonin looked at the teen for a brief second, then turned to look at his old charge. There was no telling what Araile would do. She might attack them as well if they interfered. Another roar sounded, and the two looked to see Seishin slashing at Araile with a sword. Kazoku stood nearby, a cold glint in her eyes. She suddenly stepped forward and raised her arm with her palm out towards Araile.

Araile's eyes snapped towards the woman, and Araile snarled. Kazoku smiled evilly, and chakra-like whips shot from her fingers. They wiggled at an alarming speed towards the growling girl, and Araile jumped back. She landed in a tree branch and let out a loud hiss, teeth bared. She launched towards Kazoku with another roar, and Shinrai blinked and let out a cry.

"Araile, look out!" he shouted as he watched the chakra-like whips race towards Araile.

She dodged the whips, but let out another snarl as one of the whips slammed into her back. It quickly wrapped around the snarling teen, causing her to let out a viscious growl. A cold laugh tinkered from in front of the snarling girl as more whips wound themselves around Araile. Kazoku stepped in front of the teen, an evil and cold glint in her eyes.

"It looks like we will have to put her down again" Kazoku said with mock-sadness.

She snapped her fingers and electric currants ran down the whips. Araile let out a loud roar as they entered her body. Shinrai griped his hands into fists, then leaped forward with a yell. He wouldn't let them kill her again. The roars started to die off, and began morphing into regular screams. Araile hacked up blood while screaming, and her nails returned to normal.

Kakashi bit his thumb and slammed it on the ground as Araile kept screaming in pain. Markings appeared, and within a couple seconds the ground began shaking violently. Viscious barks and snarls echoed throughout the area. Cracks appeared in the ground, and his hounds jumped through the cracks. They snapped at Seishin and Kazoku, who both jumped back. The screaming died down as Kazoku took her attention off Araile, and the teen slumped forward. The chakra-whips disappeared, and Shinrai ran to her. He knelt in front of her and with hands shaking, brushed her bangs back from her face.

"Araile? Can you hear me?" Shinrai said quietly, his heart pounding in his ears.

He sighed in relief when her eyes opened slowly. Her gold eyes hazily landed on his face before closing again. Her body swayed and then fell to the side. Shinrai reached out quickly and took her in his arms, situating her in a safe position. A screech sounded suddenly, and Shinrai looked up with Araile in his arms. Kakashi had pierced Kazoku in the chest with a kunai as his hounds kept her still with their jaws. The woman's cold eyes locked onto the Jonin's multicoloured eyes before breathing her last. Her body fell forward and hit the ground with a '_thud_', blood pooling around her.

Shinrai gripped Araile closer to him as he gazed at the body of the woman who he thought was the definition of kind and compassionate. He looked down at Araile's face with worry and gently pressed his fingertips to her neck. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found a pulse.

A loud laugh sounded, and both Shinrai and Kakashi looked towards the last villain. Seishin stood on top of a tree branch, and a large smile spread across his face.

"Are you enjoying yourselves?" Seishin called down to them.

Shinrai let out a small growl and clutched Araile closer to him. Kakashi tensed as Seishin laughed again. Seishin threw a smoke bomb, and before Shinrai knew it, he was knocked to the side from a large force. Araile flew from his grip, and the two teens skidded on the ground. Shinrai coughed as the air was knocked out of his lungs and he laid on the ground, gasping. He groaned and opened his eyes before scrambling to his feet.

He gazed around for Araile, and growled when Seishin held Araile to his chest. His hand gripped Araile around her waist as her head slumped forward. Both men tensed as Seishin let out a loud laugh.

"Well, gentlemen. I will be leaving you both now with this lovely young lady here. Don't worry, you'll see her in the afterlife" Seishin said with a crazed expression on his face.

Shinrai took a step forward, but was stopped when Kakashi threw his arm in front of him. He looked at the Jonin with confusion. Kakashi was staring at the crazed laughing man with narrowed eyes. A '_shink_' caught Shinrai's attention, and his eyes snapped to Araile as she slowly and quietly unfurled her tail around Seishin's sword. Her hand twitched and her tail brought the hilt of his sword to her hand. His green eyes widened as her hand closed around the hilt.

As Seishin continued his crazed laughing, Araile struck fast. She twisted her body around and sunk the sword into Seishin's neck, effectively cutting off his laughing. Blood gurgled from his mouth, and his eyes looked down at Araile. Her gold eyes that blazed with hate stared back at the man. His arm tightened momentarily around her waist, before going limp. Seishin fell to his knees as Araile squirmed out of his grasp. He fell face-first to the ground, and blood pooled around him as the sword fell out of his neck.

Kakashi leaned down and helped his old charge up off the ground. She smiled at him and Shinrai rushed over. Araile looked at the teen as he came over to them, and enveloped her in a hug.

It was finally over.


	29. Chapter 29

This is a second attempt at posting this chapter. The first time it went very wrong ^^; I apologize for that! Hopefully this time it'll work.

"I'm okay" Araile breathed as Shinrai enveloped her in a hug.

Shinrai didn't answer, but continued hugging her to his chest. He could feel her breathing against him, and that sent a thrill through his veins. He lost her once and almost lost her a second time. A sigh sounded from beside the two teens, and Araile pushed Shinrai away from her playfully. She looked to see her old caregiver holding an unconscious Kane up. Her eyes widened, and she let out a horrified gasp.

"Kane! What happened?!" Araile cried out as she ran to the two men.

"It's okay, he is just unconscious" Kakashi said as he placed his headband over his red eye.

Araile nodded slowly. With a single command, the 4 man team headed off. Shinrai stuck close to Araile as they started their trek back to Konoha. Aside from cuts and bruises, Araile seemed fine. Shinrai's green eyes continued watching the girl beside him. Something didn't seem right. Araile died in the chamber. He was there and was held her cold body...but yet here she was, walking beside him.

When the team set up camp for the night, Shinrai sat down heavily beside Araile on a log. Heat radiated from a fire Kakashi had made in the middle, and the teens stared into the fire in silence. While Kakashi was tending to a still-unconscious Kane, Shinrai turned to look at Araile.

"Hey, Araile?" Shinrai murmured.

"Hmm?" she voiced, gold eyes staring into the flickering flames.

The light from the fire created intricate shadows across the teens face as Shinrai looked at her.

"How did you come back? You died...I saw you die!" Shinrai said.

Araile continued to gaze into the fire, gold eyes glazed over. It was like she was staring into some unknown time. Shinrai sighed and turned back, but her answer caused him to freeze.

"I did die back there...in the chamber. I saw this light all around me, and at first I was afraid but then I felt like I was warm and safe. I then saw my mom and dad, and Takumi too. I had never felt so happy before in my life. Then I heard shouting from far away, and I felt like something pulled me back away from them. I felt the other energy-the demonic one-flowing over me, and I couldn't do anything. Next thing I knew, I was being held by Seishin" she said in a quiet voice.

Shinrai could hardly breathe as Araile took a shuddering breath. She clutched both her arms closer to her stomach, as if to ward off a chill. Her tail curled around her legs as she placed her chin on top of her arms.

"I don't know why I came back, or how" Araile finished, eyes downcast.

It was silent around the camp for a couple minutes as Kakashi took out his favourite book. Kane slept in a sleeping roll nearby, a large bandage over his temple. Araile took another shuddering breath and hugged her arms closer to her stomach. Shinrai shuffled closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Araile flinched slightly, but relaxed after and rested her head against his shoulder. Shinrai felt her sigh against him, and her eyes lowered.

Before long, Shinrai could feel her deep and even breaths against his side as Araile fell asleep. He gazed at the fire in silence as his mind swirled with questions.

How could someone come back from death? It didn't make sense. It shouldn't have happened, but yet it did. Shinrai sighed and closed his eyes. His muscles and bones hurt. Everything hurt, even closing his eyes hurt! Shinrai concentrated on Araile's even breathing, and before long he fell asleep, leaning his cheek on top of her head.

Something rustled in the bushes, causing Araile's ears to twitch. Kakashi was on his feet, hand poised in his weapon pouch. More rustling sounded, and Shinrai raised his head, eyes snapping open as he wrapped an arm protectively around her. Araile slowly opened her eyes as two dark shapes flew from the bushes. She opened her eyes all the way as Shinrai tensed, his arm tightening around her shoulder.

Araile's eyes opened wide when the two figures came into the firelight. Her best friend stood there with her brother, eyes boring into her own. The siblings had grown, but something was wrong.

"Meiyo? What are you doing here? Are you okay?" Araile asked as she jumped to her feet.

She didn't think she would ever see her best friend again! A big smile spread across her lips as she threw her arms around the girl.

"Araile don't touch them!" Shinrai shouted as he jumped to his feet.

She turned around to look at him, and made a choked sound when Meiyo's clawed hand grabbed her throat. The black eyes of Meiyo stared directly into Araile's golden eyes as she tightened her hold. Clangs of metal against metal could be heard as Taiyo came at Kakashi with a sword attached to his waist. Shinrai ran at Meiyo with a shout as Araile struggled against Meiyo's grip. Meiyo dropped Araile and jumped swiftly back as Shinrai's fist came down, barely missing her.

Araile coughed and scrambled to her feet. Shinrai tensed, intending on charging again but Araile placed an arm out, stopping Shinrai in his tracts. Shinrai looked at Araile in confusion as she stared at Meiyo.

"Don't. This is my fight. Go help Kakashi" she said, tail twitching.

"Araile-"

"Go" she said, gold eyes hard.

Shinrai nodded and ran over to help fight Taiyo. Her ears flattened when she watched her best friend just standing there. She tensed, placing one foot behind her as Meiyo raised her arm with her palm flat out. A sigh forced itself out of the teen as she relaxed her stance.

"Meiyo, I can't fight you. You're my best friend. I can't do this" she said, taking a careful step forward.

Meiyo's black eyes stared at the teen as she continued walking forward, hands flat out. This was Meiyo! The girl she trained with and told secrets to. She couldn't fight Meiyo. Araile continued walking forward until she was practically nose-to-nose with the other girl.

Araile let out a surprised yelp as Meiyo slammed her palm into Araile's chest. She flew back and hit something hard but soft at the same time. She glanced up with a confused look, but it changed to joy when she saw the gold eyes of her brother. He gazed down at her in concern, but his eyes snapped up to Meiyo as she took an offensive stance. Araile stood up, brushing her brother's hands off her shoulders.

"I'll be okay, Kane" she murmured, never taking her eyes off of Meiyo.

Her legs tensed as Meiyo charged, fists raised. Araile met her halfway, and the two girls began fighting. Fists clashed against fists, feet against feet. It felt like they were fighting in slow motion, and with each hit Araile's heart grew heavy. She didn't want to fight Meiyo, it didn't feel right.

Her ears twitched when a shrill sound split through the air. Her eyes snapped towards the sound to see a kunai knife thrown in their direction. Araile jumped back, and the kunai landed with a 'thunk' into Meiyo's chest. Araile let out a cry as she watched her best friend fall to the ground, blood welling from her wound. She raced to Meiyo's side and fell to her knees, hands shaking as she watched more blood flowing.

"I-I'm sorry Araile! I thought Meiyo would dodge the kunai!" Shinrai said as he came to her side, panic in his eyes.

A weak cough sounded, and both teens looked at Meiyo, who's red eyes were opened halfway. Meiyo struggled to open her eyes, and Araile grasped her hand tightly in hers. Red hazy eyes met her golden ones, and a small gasp came from the dying teen.

"A-Araile? Is it you? Is it really you?" Meiyo said with a quivering voice.

Araile nodded, unable to speak due to tears that grabbed a hold of her. She blinked, and hot tears prickled the back of her eyes and overflowed, dripping down her cheeks. Tears dropped onto Meiyo's face as the dying teen struggled through blood-filled lungs.

"I'm sorry for attacking you. Something happened t-to Taiyo and I. Seishin and K-Kazoku changed and-and changed me and Taiyo" Meiyo said as blood gurgled out of her mouth and trickled down her chin.

"It's okay Meiyo. I don't blame you at all!" Araile said, tears streaming down her face.

Meiyo struggled to smile, her red eyes staring at Araile. Her eyes then turned glassy, and she coughed again. Meiyo's eyes closed, and a smile lifted the corners of her lips.

"Thank you, Araile. It doesn't hurt anymore" she whispered, and her entire body relaxed.

"Meiyo?! Please don't go!" Araile cried out, holding onto her friends hand.

A hand on her shoulder caused her to look up through teary eyes. Her old caregiver looked at her with sorrow, and Araile looked down again. Meiyo's body was beginning to cool down, and Shinrai bowed his head.

After an hour of burying the two siblings, the four-man team finally began their journey back to Konoha. Shinrai demanded that Araile ride on his back, and after a while of him pestering, Araile finally agreed. Kane was being supported by Kakashi as they made their way through the path. As they walked, the smell of peppermint wafted off Shinrai's clothes. Araile inhaled the smell, and it made her muscles relax. She leaned her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting the rocking motion of his steps lull her to sleep.

In her mind's eye she saw Meiyo, happy and giggling like she was before the Preliminaries. Meiyo turned to look at Araile and waved with a huge smile on her face, before turning and running through a bright light.

An unconscious smile twitched across Araile's lips. She knew her best friend was free from pain now, and it made her heart feel lighter. She tightened her arms momentarily around Shinrai's neck as he hoisted her higher onto his back.

Unknown to the teens, Kane and Kakashi were watching them. Kane scowled at Shinrai's actions, and Kakashi sighed. All he wanted to do was get back to Konoha and his books. Hopefully they would reach the village soon.


	30. Chapter 30

This is the last chapter of Growing Pains. Thank you to everyone who stuck with me and continued reading this fanfiction. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

The gates of Konoha finally came into view, and the exhausted teens couldn't be happier. Shinrai still carried Araile on his back, no matter how much she protested against it. She could walk just fine! Kane had healed enough over the journey for Kakashi to stop supporting him. Letting out a sigh, Araile clasped her arms around Shinrai's chest tighter. She was so glad he was here with her now...but what happens after?

What happens now that their mission is finished and there's no more danger for her or Shinrai?

'_Where would he go? Where would I go? Will I stay with Kakashi or Kane_?' Araile thought to herself.

Her ears twitched slightly when Kakashi spoke to the gate guards. They would need to check in to the hospital to get their wounds checked and cleaned, while Kakashi would check in with the Hokage. The three went to the hospital as Kakashi went the other way.

She detached herself from Shinrai's back as they entered the hospital. The nurses came and escorted them to some hospital beds. Kane scoffed, saying he didn't need any medical help. A young medical nin with bright blue eyes and brown hair scoffed right back, and demanded that he stayed in his bed. Araile and Shinrai blinked and looked at each other in surprise. Kane gazed at the young medical nin with a mix of shock and confusion.

Araile hid a giggle behind her hand as one nurse wrapped a bandage around her arm. Kane shot his sister dirty look as the young medical nin inserted an IV into Kane's hand.

"You shouldn't be moving for at least a week! And I mean it" the medical nin said, narrowing her blue eyes at Kane.

Kane scoffed and turned his head away, gold eyes narrowed. Shinrai gave a short laugh, but it turned into a cough when Kane's eyes shot to his. Araile cocked her head in confusion as she noticed the medical nin's headband.

"You're not from Konoha?" she asked as she leaned back against the hospital pillow.

"No, I'm from Suna. I came here just for a little while to further my training" the medical nin said with a smile.

"Now, I don't want to see you moving out of this bed" she said, pointing a finger at Kane's chest.

Araile burst out laughing at the look on Kane's face. The medical nin quickly looked between the two with an eyebrow raised. She nodded to herself and clapped her hands together.

"I've got it! You two are siblings, aren't you?" she said, and Araile nodded.

"And what about you two?" she said, pointing to Araile and Shinrai.

Both teens stuttered and turned their faces away from each other, cheeks flaming red. The medical nin let out a delightful laugh, clapping her hands in delight.

"Excellent! Young love is so sweet" she exclaimed as she walked out of the hospital room.

A moment of silence went by, broken by the mechanical beeps of the medical machines. Shinrai cleared his throat and shifted in his hospital bed, the liquid in his IV bag glittering in the sunlight.

"I like her. She put you in your place" Araile said with a grin as she looked at her brother, still sulking in his bed.

All she got was a scoff, and she let out a small giggle. A shuffle caught her attention, and looking over she saw Shinrai get out of his bed. He shuffled over to her bed while pulling the IV machine behind him, and slowly situated himself on top of her blanket. The smell of peppermint washed over Araile, and immediately her muscles relaxed. She leaned her head against his shoulder, tail twitching happily underneath the blanket.

"What'll happen to you?" she murmured.

"I'm not sure, but I know I'm staying with you. I don't care how it'll happen, but I'll make it happen" Shinrai said, and Araile felt her heart skip a beat.

Nodding, she slowly clasped his hand and intertwined their fingers together as the two teens stared off into space, comfortable in each other's prescience.

They would indeed find a way to be with each other, no matter what. Araile knew that this was meant to happen, and had a feeling her mother and father where looking down on her, smiling. They would have loved Shinrai. She loved Shinrai.

She loved him, and he loved her.


End file.
